Hiccups in a newborn after eating: how to stop?

Hiccups in a newborn are a common problem that worries young parents. But this does not always indicate a disease, sometimes it is simply a manifestation of a decrease in body temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to differentiate conditions when it is necessary to contact a doctor, and when you can cope on your own.

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Causes newborn hiccups

The causes of hiccups in a newborn depend on the time of the symptom's appearance and the presence of other manifestations. The most common cause is that the child is simply cold. When the child's body temperature drops, the muscles begin to contract to increase the amount of endogenous heat. In this case, the diaphragm also contracts, which leads to hiccups. This is the most common cause of hiccups.

It often happens that the cause of hiccups is overfeeding. A baby's small stomach is designed to be fed frequently and in small portions. A newborn baby should eat about 50-70 grams of milk per feeding. But parents often cannot understand when the baby is full. This leads to overfeeding the baby and his stomach stretches. This irritates the phrenic nerve and leads to hiccups. This cause of hiccups in a newborn is not dangerous and does not require any special interventions.

The cases when you really should worry are congenital defects of the diaphragm. This cause of hiccups in a newborn is not so common, but quite serious. The pathogenesis of the symptoms is that when a diaphragmatic hernia is formed, all internal organs can come out through the hernial orifice. This leads to the diaphragm being pinched and its fibers contracting. In a newborn, the nerve connections are not fully developed, so hiccups are a reaction to irritation of the diaphragm. Therefore, if hiccups in a child are repeated often and there are other symptoms, then you need to think about the pathological causes of hiccups.

Another reason for the occurrence of hiccups may be a pathology of the central nervous system with a violation of the regulation of the act of normal breathing. Very often, children who have hypoxic damage to the central nervous system cannot breathe on their own. This leads to a violation of the innervation of all the muscles of the chest and later after recovery, phenomena may remain in which the function of the diaphragm is poorly regulated. This can become the cause of hiccups in the child in the future, until he restores the normal functioning of all muscles.

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Risk factors

Risk factors for developing hiccups are:

1. a premature baby has a higher risk of a decrease in body temperature due to the insufficiency of the thermoregulatory center;
2. need for intubation after birth;
3. incorrect feeding regimen for the child;
4. pathological course of pregnancy, which can lead to disturbances in the formation of organs, including the diaphragm;
5. hypoxic-ischemic damage to the central nervous system;
6. low Apgar score and birth asphyxia.

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Symptoms newborn hiccups

Hiccups in newborns after feeding are most common. They occur more often when the baby is fed incorrectly or overfed. A baby's small stomach can only hold a certain amount of milk or formula at a time. Therefore, if a baby starts hiccupping while feeding, then most likely, feeding should be stopped. If the mother feeds the baby incorrectly or she is in an uncomfortable position, then the baby can swallow air along with the milk. This often happens if the baby is fed with formula from a bottle and there is a large hole in the nipple that lets in a lot of air and disrupts the feeding process. This is what can cause hiccups during feeding. This also signals that you need to stop feeding. Therefore, a connection between hiccups and feeding the baby can only be if the feeding technique is violated or the amount of food is excessive. Hiccups and regurgitation in a newborn can clearly indicate overfeeding.

Hiccups immediately after feeding, which appear at the same time and their episodes are repeated, indicate a possible congenital or acquired pathology of the diaphragm, most often a hernia. When the baby's stomach is full, it presses on the diaphragm and internal organs come out through its pliable places. Therefore, hiccups occur immediately after feeding and are repeated very often. Such hiccups last for some time, and they do not decrease until the food is digested and the volume of the stomach decreases. Such monotonous, frequent and strong hiccups in a newborn after feeding, which do not respond to any corrective actions, should cause concern in parents in terms of congenital pathologies in the child. But in this case, only the appearance of hiccups indicates that the pathology is not so serious. Most often, severe defects of the diaphragm are clinically manifested by breathing problems from birth. Therefore, if there are just hiccups and no other manifestations, then it is highly likely that the pathology of the diaphragm is insignificant.

Hiccups in a newborn after regurgitation can also be one of the symptoms of diaphragm pathology. Disruption of the feeding process, as indicated by regurgitation, leads to disruption of the coordination of the diaphragm muscles. This is the root cause of hiccups that occur when a child regurgitates. If a child regurgitates in a huge volume and this is accompanied by severe hiccups, then one should think about incomplete esophageal atresia or pathology of the development of the esophagus with the diaphragm. Therefore, it is very important how much the child regurgitates and in what volume.

It often happens that a newborn baby gets hiccups after sleep. When a baby has been sleeping for a long time, especially at night, his body temperature may drop due to hypoglycemia. A hungry newborn baby may drop his body temperature simply because he has not been fed for a long time. Therefore, a drop in temperature causes muscle contraction and hiccups. In this case, the baby just needs to be fed.

As for premature babies, their body temperature is very labile and they are prone to hypoglycemia. Therefore, hiccups in a premature newborn baby are most often due to hypothermia or malnutrition. After some time, the premature baby's body will get stronger and the hiccups should go away.

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Complications and consequences

The consequences of hiccups are usually minor, and if you improve the child’s feeding routine and technique and provide him with comfortable conditions, then all symptoms quickly go away.

Complications of hiccups can only occur if it is caused by a diaphragmatic hernia. In this case, with a massive exit of organs from the chest cavity, there may be intestinal obstruction.

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Diagnostics newborn hiccups

Diagnosing hiccups in a newborn baby is not difficult. The mother complains about the occurrence of this symptom in the child and the only thing that needs to be clarified is the conditions of the occurrence of hiccups. It is very important whether the hiccups are associated with feeding or they occur during sleep. All these symptoms and their precise detailing help to establish a preliminary diagnosis and even find the cause.

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Differential diagnosis

Additional diagnostic methods are not required unless there is a suspicion of a more serious pathology. In this case, it is necessary to conduct differential diagnostics between random hiccups and diaphragmatic pathology, which can cause similar symptoms. In this case, the general condition of the child and whether there are any other manifestations are very important. If there are episodes of shortness of breath or cyanosis in the chin or nasolabial triangle, then other diseases must be excluded. In this case, ultrasound diagnostics or, if necessary, radiography can be used. These methods allow determining the presence of hernias, free air and the localization of the pathological process relative to the diaphragm.

Treatment newborn hiccups

Remedies for newborn hiccups are limited to non-drug treatments that the mother gives to the child. There are practically no medications that could stop hiccups today. Folk remedies for newborns are also limited. Therefore, it is important to follow some rules that can improve the baby's condition.

What to do if a newborn has hiccups? First of all, the mother should find out the possible cause of this and exclude it. Most often, this cause is overeating or a decrease in body temperature. Therefore, the first thing the mother should do is make sure that the child is not cold. To do this, it is enough for the mother to touch the baby's arms and legs with her forehead and make sure that they are warm.

If hiccups occur during feeding or immediately after it, if it is accompanied by regurgitation, then most likely the feeding regime or technique is violated. How then to stop hiccups in a newborn? If it occurs during feeding, then first of all you need to stop feeding the baby. Then you need to make sure that he is in a comfortable position and air does not get into him along with the milk. To do this, you need to remember some rules of correct attachment to the breast. The child and mother should be in a comfortable position. The baby should cover the entire areola, and not just the nipple. It is very important to feed the baby often so that he does not eat too much at one time along with the swallowed air.

If hiccups are combined with regurgitation of the child immediately after feeding, then it is necessary to reduce the amount of food at one time. Overfeeding the child also has a very bad effect on the absorption of food. Therefore, it is necessary to feed the child more often, but in smaller portions. How to hold a newborn with hiccups? It is best to carry the child in your arms at an angle of 45 degrees when hiccups occur. This relieves tension in the diaphragm and reduces pressure on the chest organs.

Treatment of diaphragm pathologies in case of confirmation of such diagnosis is carried out by a surgeon. If the defect is large, then surgical correction is carried out. In case there are no special symptoms and the defect is insignificant, then a wait-and-see tactic is used.

Prevention

Prevention of hiccups in a newborn is simply proper care, temperature control and feeding regimen for the child.

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Forecast

The prognosis is favorable if hiccups are caused by functional reasons. If we are talking about congenital defects or diaphragmatic hernia, the prognosis depends on the size of the defect and the degree of changes, but with timely correction, the prognosis for life is favorable.

Hiccups in a newborn can be caused by various reasons, but the main thing that a mother should remember is that such a child simply needs proper care. If hiccups are the only symptom that bothers the mother, then this is most likely a functional disorder. If there are any other manifestations or the general condition of the child is disturbed, then you need to see a doctor.