Dealing With Infant Reflux

My daughter Ava suffered from reflux shortly after she was born. She would bring up all her feeds in the hospital, but the nurses just dismissed it, saying it was normal for newborns to bring up 'small' amounts of feed. When we brought her home, the vomiting got worse. I

would feed her, and afterwards she would vomit up huge amounts, cried a lot and wouldn't sleep well. I was seeing a nurse weekly for the first few weeks, and I told her of the vomits and the discomfort she was obviously experiencing. I was referred to a Day Stay Centre. Once there, the nurse on duty weighed Ava before her feed, straight after, and then after her many vomits. We discovered she wasn't keeping much down at all which is why she gained weight very slowly. She told me to see the Doctor and see about getting Ava onto some medication. She recovered from reflux just after she turned 1.

What is reflux and what causes it:

Gasto oesophageal reflux is where the stomach contents (food and stomach acid) are pushed back up the oesophagus causing either vomiting or heart burn (silent reflux, where the contents doesn't actually come out through the mouth). This occurs when the valve between the stomach and the oesophagus isn't working as it should. Normally this valve only opens to swallow, vomit or burp, but for a reflux sufferer the valve is relaxed or not developed properly (can be quite common in premature babies as such) and therefore the stomach contents can flow back into the oesophagus. This causes quite a deal of pain as the stomach acid actually 'burns' the oesophagus and throat.

What are some of the signs your baby might be experiencing reflux:

• Very regular vomiting, whether possetting down their chin or they can projectile vomit across the room
• Feeding problems: some babies can pull away from their feed and arch their back and cry because they are in pain (others will comfort feed very often, as in the case of Ava)
• Crying and screaming: They can be quite hard to console
• Oversensitivity to noise
• Gagging and sputtering
• Displays a fear of eating
• Sleeping problems (might only be a cat napper, as the reflux wakes them up)
• Failure to thrive, gains weight very slowly
• Wet sounding burps
• Respiratory problems

What can you do to help the baby suffering from reflux:

• Feed them upright
• Elevate their bedding slightly at the head
• Don't overfeed
• Use a special thickened formula for reflux (if bottle feeding)
• During nappy changes, elevate head slightly (can be done with a towel the top half of the body), also change nappy BEFORE a feed
• Keep baby upright for around half an hour after feeds
• Sometimes the use of a dummy can help (by swallowing)
• Don't move the baby rapidly, especially after a feed
• 'White noise' is great for the reflux baby that wakes easily. I did this using a CD player with a relaxing CD in it, and just put the chosen song on repeat.
• Avoid tight clothing (especially around the waist) and don't fasten nappies too tight
• Avoid exposure to smoking (can aggravate the condition more)
• Seek a Doctor's advice, who might prescribe infant antacids, stomach content thickeners or other medication (Ava was prescribed Losec which neutralises the stomach acid)