How To Relieve Infant Hiccups?

Hiccups or hiccoughs are normal in newborn babies.

A baby may get his hiccupping habit or start practicing it whilst in the womb.

In general, a newborn has a great capacity to bear hiccups. They do not bother him, yet they bother his mother who worries about him and tries in every possible way to relieve him.

So, if you’re a first time mother and searching for a way to relieve your baby from hiccups, we are here to help you out and you will find in this article some real and effective ways to deal with your concern:

• Breastfeed your baby, as breastfeeding may help his diaphragm. i.e. the layer of muscle that separates his chest cavity from his abdomen, relax and thus stop contracting. And if it doesn’t, it will at least shift your baby’s attention off it.
• Make sure you burp your baby during breastfeeding and between nursing sessions. Burping reduces the amount of air stuck in his stomach causing him hiccups. To help your baby burp correctly, we recommend that you hold him in your arms and put him on your chest, using one hand to support his body and the other hand to pat his back gently. Or if you want, you can lay him on your lap face down towards the floor, while supporting his chin and jaw with one hand and patting his back with the other.
• Hold your baby in an upright position and keep him that way whilst breastfeeding so gas can get out of his tummy naturally.
• Offer a pacifier to your baby so he can suck on it and reduce the bout of hiccups that may hit him and last no more than 30 minutes.

If you notice that your baby is having hiccups more than once or twice a day and for long consecutive periods of time, we recommend that you consult his doctor. Maybe your child suffers from GERD that causes infant hiccups sometimes, along with many other symptoms like breathing difficulties, vomiting and pain while nursing, and requires medical intervention or care to alleviate his condition or treat it.  

Read More: Gut Discomforts In Babies