Reflux

Reflux

This occurs when your baby's stomach contents come back up into his oesophagus or into his mouth.

Symptoms:

• Persistent vomiting during the first year of life due to the weak muscle at the entrance of the stomach.
• Feeds dribble out of the mouth, crying or irritability, minimal or failure to gain weight if the reflux is chronic and severe.

Seriousness:

• The child will outgrow reflux by the age of 1. 
• See your doctor if the vomit is bloodstained or there is severe projectile vomiting.

Treatment:

• There isn’t much you can do for this except change your child’s usual sleeping position. 
• Put her on her side with her head higher than her feet.
• If it is a persistent problem and you’ve taken your baby to a doctor, he may have prescribed medicine to reduce the acid in your baby’s stomach or a drug that helps prevent the problem by increasing the muscular activity of the oesophagus. 
• Give small, frequent feeds.