Patient's question:
My baby is about 5 months old. Recently, he always coughs up. Sometimes, he coughs up right after the nipple is placed in his mouth. Other times, he coughs up right after finishing feeding, and then vomits everything out. My baby's bowel movements are also not good, about 8 days per time. However, he doesn't cry when he has a bowel movement.Doctor's answer:
First, pay attention to the feeding posture. Babies who are breastfed often experience spitting up. This is because the stomach of an infant is like a water wheel. Its capacity is small. The cardiac sphincter (located near the esophagus, it is wide and has poor closing function) and the pylorus (located near the small intestine, it is narrow and tight) contribute to this. Additionally, infants often swallow air while feeding. Therefore, after feeding, milk easily flows back from the stomach's cardiac sphincter into the mouth, causing spitting up.How can you prevent infants from spitting up? If feeding is too frequent, some milk from the previous meal may still remain in the stomach, which will inevitably affect the intake of the next meal or cause stomach fullness, leading to spitting up.
Using an appropriate feeding posture can help. Some mothers prefer to feed their babies while lying down. This face-to-face side-lying feeding position increases the likelihood of spitting up. If the mother picks up the baby to feed, the chances of spitting up will be reduced.