Breastfeeding and Spitting

by Rachel

Most new breastfeeding mothers are bewildered whenever their baby spits during or after the breastfeeding process. You must know that spitting is a natural occurrence after every feeding so there’s nothing that you should be worried about when this happens.

The spitting can be caused by many factors and some of these factors are: oversupply of milk, too sudden stream of milk to the baby’s mouth or underdeveloped muscle control.

As your baby grows older, the spitting should be minimized naturally, but if it still persists, here are some things that you can do: burping after every feeding is important so that your baby won’t feel too full and have the urge to spit out the breast milk, nursing him in an upright position will also work well, having smaller doses of milk during feedings will also help and keeping a clean set of clothes nearby will help you cope with the baby’s spitting.

If you feel like your baby’s spitting is unnatural and abnormal, it might be a sign that he or she is suffering from gastroesophagal reflux. This happens when the baby’s stomach muscles open up at the wrong times, making the milk to come right back through the esophagus. The milk can be coupled with gastric acids which might be harmful for the throat and esophagus of the baby.

Other symptoms of reflux include: vomiting after feeding, sore throat and breathing problems. To be sure, it is important that you consult your baby’s pediatrician.