Acid Reflux, and Baby Feeding

Once acid reflux has been detected in your baby, one of the most commonly suggested ways to alleviate those symptoms in your baby is to evaluate the choices you make when feeding your child.

Diet either yours or your baby's, depending on whether you are breast feeding or formula-feeding can play a significant role in managing your child's acid reflux problem. What, when, and how you feed your baby can affect the rate and severity of the problem.

Most doctors will tell you that breastfeeding is the best feeding option for your baby, and this remains true when it comes to reducing the incidence of GERD in your child. However, breastfeeding is not always an option for some mothers, and it is therefore necessary to explore other alternatives.

The following lists a few alternatives that have been known to produce favorable results in the reduction of GERD in babies

• Formula-Feeding: Speak to your child's doctor regarding a switch to formula that is lactose-free or hypoallergenic, as that simple change often makes a difference in the frequency and severity of acid reflux in the child.

• Breastfeeding: Remember that when breastfeeding, anything you ingest can easily be passed on to your baby's digestive tract. Therefore, it may be something you are eating that is causing the problem. Try taking one food at a time out of your diet, starting with dairy products (a common culprit), then spicy foods and caffeine. After about a week, introduce the food back into your diet and see if there is a change in your child's condition.

You may need to make further adjustments to what and how you feed your baby. Try feeding the baby smaller portions over the course of the day, rather than a few larger meals.

In doing so, you'll reduce the amount of food that is in the child's stomach at any time, thus reducing the likelihood that it will reflux into the throat. Burping the child more frequently may help too.

Finally, your doctor may recommend that you put oatmeal (the kind made especially for infants) into the baby's food to thicken it. The oatmeal makes the food heavier, so it stays down in the baby's stomach and does not reflux back up.

However, this solution may not be best for all babies in all situations, and parents are advised to consult their doctor before making a decision about what's best for their own child. Before making any changes to what you feed your baby, do consult your doctor.

The pain of GERD can sometimes be just plain awful. To learn more about a list of items that may help to ease these symptoms in a baby, click here

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