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Why is breast feeding beneficial for a reflux baby? |
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| Breast milk is digested twice as fast as formula, this is beneficial for babies with reflux because the faster food moves out of the stomach, the less chance it has of being refluxed. Breast milk, particularly the proteins, are more hypoallergenic than formula, especially cow's milk based formula. Reflux can—in some cases—be aggravated by milk or food allergies so providing the most hypoallergenic possibility is extremely beneficial. |
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My baby wants to constantly feed. Why? |
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| Some become frequent and aggressive feeders, guzzling fast and demanding more. These babies seem to get relief from the natural antacid effects of the milk, likely from the closeness to mom and soothing action of suckling. This is exhausting for the mothers and can actually increase reflux episodes if baby’s tummy gets too full. |
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My baby has started to refuse the breast. Why? |
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| They learn that food hurts and decide to protect themselves from the pain and discomfort they associate with eating, they become very difficult to feed or refuse food altogether. Some things that can help are keeping the baby as upright as possible, feeding while the baby is sleeping, the use of white noise like a vacuum or the shower running, have proven effective for many moms. Try keeping the baby as relaxed as possible and avoid the natural reaction to panic or get upset that baby won't eat. Since your baby senses and reacts to your distress, this will only prove to increase their anxiety over mealtimes. If these things, along with the rest of the lifestyle adjustments for reflux don't help, medication may be the next step. For these babies it's important to stop the pain they feel when they eat. If they are able to eat without pain, the bad associations will stop and so should the feeding problems. |
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