Vomiting baby breastfeeding
How to Know Whether You Should
Your baby just threw up all the milk they’ve chugged down so far, and you’re wondering if it’s OK to continue feeding. How soon should you feed your baby after vomiting?
It’s a good question — just about every parent has likely pondered this. Spit-up is almost a rite of passage for babies (and parents). Baby vomiting is also common and can happen for many reasons. Most of the causes aren’t serious.
The short answer — because you may have a very fussy baby on your hands and want to get back to them ASAP — is yes, you can usually feed your baby after they vomit all over your favorite sweater, sofa throw, and rug.
Here’s just about everything you need to know about feeding your baby after vomiting.
Baby vomit and spit-up are two different things — and they can have different causes. Spitting up is common in babies under the age of 1 year. It typically happens after feeding. Spit-up is usually an easy flow of milk and saliva that dribbles from your baby’s mouth. It often happens with a burp.
Spit-up is normal in healthy babies. It can happen for several reasons. About half of all babies 3 months and under have a type of acid reflux called infant reflux.
Spit-up from infant reflux is especially bound to happen if your baby has a full stomach. Being careful not to overfeed a bottle-fed infant can help. Spitting up typically stops by the time your baby is a year old.
On the other hand, vomiting is typically a more forceful throwing-up of milk (or food, if your baby is old enough to eat solids). It happens when the brain signals the muscles around the stomach to squeeze.
Vomiting (like gagging) is a reflex action that can be triggered by a number of things. These include:
- irritation from a viral or bacterial infection, like the stomach bug
- fever
- pain, such as from a fever, earache, or vaccination
- blockage in the stomach or intestines
- chemicals in the blood, like medicine
- allergens, including pollen; very uncommon in babies under 1 year
- motion sickness, such as during a car ride
- dizziness, which might happen after being twirled around too much
- being upset or stressed
- strong smells
- milk intolerance
Vomiting is also common in healthy babies, but it might mean that your baby has caught a bug or is feeling a bit under the weather.
Too much vomiting can cause dehydration and even weight loss in very serious cases. Milk feeding can help prevent both of these. Offer your baby a feeding after they’ve stopped throwing up. If your baby is hungry and takes to the bottle or breast after vomiting, go right ahead and feed them.
Liquid feeding after vomiting can sometimes even help settle your baby’s nausea. Start with small amounts of milk and wait to see if they vomit again. Your baby might vomit the milk right back up, but it’s better to try than not.
If your little one is at least 6 months old and doesn’t want to feed after throwing up several times, offer them water in a bottle or a spoon. This can help prevent dehydration. Wait a short while and try feeding your baby again.
In some cases, it’s better not to feed a baby right after vomiting. If your baby is throwing up because of an earache or fever, they may benefit from medication first.
Most pediatricians recommend pain medications like infant Tylenol for babies in their first year. Ask your doctor about the best medication and dosage for your baby.
If giving pain medication based on your doctor’s advice, wait about 30 to 60 minutes after doing so to feed your little one. Feeding them too soon might cause another bout of vomiting before the meds can work.
Motion sickness isn’t common in babies under the age of 2 years, but some babies may be more sensitive to it. If your baby vomits from motion sickness, it’s better not to offer a feeding afterward.
You’re in luck if your baby likes to nod off in the car. Wait until you’re out of the car to feed your baby milk.
Baby vomiting can be worrying, but it usually goes away by itself — even if your baby has the stomach bug. Most babies with gastroenteritis don’t need medical treatment. This means that most of the time, you’ll have to bravely wait out your baby’s vomiting.
But sometimes, throwing up is a sign that something’s not right. You know your baby best. Trust your gut and call their doctor if you feel your little one is unwell.
In addition, take your baby to a doctor immediately if they’ve been vomiting for 12 hours or longer. Babies and children can dehydrate quickly from too much vomiting.
Also call your baby’s pediatrician if your baby can’t hold anything down and has signs and symptoms of being unwell. These include:
- constant crying
- pain or discomfort
- refusal to feed or drink water
- diaper that hasn’t been wet for 6 hours or longer
- diarrhea
- dry lips and mouth
- crying without tears
- extra sleepiness
- floppiness
- vomiting blood or fluid with black flecks (“coffee grounds”)
- lack of smile or response
- vomiting green fluid
- bloated tummy
- blood in bowel movements
You won’t usually have any control over when or how much your baby vomits. When it happens on occasion, repeat this mantra to help you cope: “Healthy babies sometimes vomit.”
However, if your baby often vomits (or spits up) after feeding, you may be able to take some preventative steps. Try these tips:
- avoid overfeeding
- give your baby smaller, more frequent feeds
- burp your baby often between feeds and after feeds
- prop up your baby so they’re upright for at least 30 minutes after feeding (but don’t prop your baby up for sleep or use anything to position them in their crib or elevate their mattress)
If your baby has a tummy bug and is old enough to eat solid foods, avoid feeding solids for about 24 hours. A liquid diet can help the stomach settle after a bout of vomiting.
Vomiting and spit-up are common in healthy babies. In most cases, you can milk feed shortly after your baby vomits. This helps to prevent your baby from getting dehydrated.
In some cases it’s best to wait a little while before trying to feed your baby again. If you’re giving your child medication like pain and fever relievers, wait a bit so the meds don’t come back up.
If your baby is vomiting a lot or seems otherwise unwell, call your pediatrician immediately. If you’re unsure if your baby’s vomiting or spit-up is cause for concern, it’s always best to check with your doctor.
How to Know Whether You Should
Your baby just threw up all the milk they’ve chugged down so far, and you’re wondering if it’s OK to continue feeding. How soon should you feed your baby after vomiting?
It’s a good question — just about every parent has likely pondered this. Spit-up is almost a rite of passage for babies (and parents). Baby vomiting is also common and can happen for many reasons. Most of the causes aren’t serious.
The short answer — because you may have a very fussy baby on your hands and want to get back to them ASAP — is yes, you can usually feed your baby after they vomit all over your favorite sweater, sofa throw, and rug.
Here’s just about everything you need to know about feeding your baby after vomiting.
Baby vomit and spit-up are two different things — and they can have different causes. Spitting up is common in babies under the age of 1 year. It typically happens after feeding. Spit-up is usually an easy flow of milk and saliva that dribbles from your baby’s mouth. It often happens with a burp.
Spit-up is normal in healthy babies. It can happen for several reasons. About half of all babies 3 months and under have a type of acid reflux called infant reflux.
Spit-up from infant reflux is especially bound to happen if your baby has a full stomach. Being careful not to overfeed a bottle-fed infant can help. Spitting up typically stops by the time your baby is a year old.
On the other hand, vomiting is typically a more forceful throwing-up of milk (or food, if your baby is old enough to eat solids). It happens when the brain signals the muscles around the stomach to squeeze.
Vomiting (like gagging) is a reflex action that can be triggered by a number of things. These include:
- irritation from a viral or bacterial infection, like the stomach bug
- fever
- pain, such as from a fever, earache, or vaccination
- blockage in the stomach or intestines
- chemicals in the blood, like medicine
- allergens, including pollen; very uncommon in babies under 1 year
- motion sickness, such as during a car ride
- dizziness, which might happen after being twirled around too much
- being upset or stressed
- strong smells
- milk intolerance
Vomiting is also common in healthy babies, but it might mean that your baby has caught a bug or is feeling a bit under the weather.
Too much vomiting can cause dehydration and even weight loss in very serious cases. Milk feeding can help prevent both of these. Offer your baby a feeding after they’ve stopped throwing up. If your baby is hungry and takes to the bottle or breast after vomiting, go right ahead and feed them.
Liquid feeding after vomiting can sometimes even help settle your baby’s nausea. Start with small amounts of milk and wait to see if they vomit again. Your baby might vomit the milk right back up, but it’s better to try than not.
If your little one is at least 6 months old and doesn’t want to feed after throwing up several times, offer them water in a bottle or a spoon. This can help prevent dehydration. Wait a short while and try feeding your baby again.
In some cases, it’s better not to feed a baby right after vomiting. If your baby is throwing up because of an earache or fever, they may benefit from medication first.
Most pediatricians recommend pain medications like infant Tylenol for babies in their first year. Ask your doctor about the best medication and dosage for your baby.
If giving pain medication based on your doctor’s advice, wait about 30 to 60 minutes after doing so to feed your little one. Feeding them too soon might cause another bout of vomiting before the meds can work.
Motion sickness isn’t common in babies under the age of 2 years, but some babies may be more sensitive to it. If your baby vomits from motion sickness, it’s better not to offer a feeding afterward.
You’re in luck if your baby likes to nod off in the car. Wait until you’re out of the car to feed your baby milk.
Baby vomiting can be worrying, but it usually goes away by itself — even if your baby has the stomach bug. Most babies with gastroenteritis don’t need medical treatment. This means that most of the time, you’ll have to bravely wait out your baby’s vomiting.
But sometimes, throwing up is a sign that something’s not right. You know your baby best. Trust your gut and call their doctor if you feel your little one is unwell.
In addition, take your baby to a doctor immediately if they’ve been vomiting for 12 hours or longer. Babies and children can dehydrate quickly from too much vomiting.
Also call your baby’s pediatrician if your baby can’t hold anything down and has signs and symptoms of being unwell. These include:
- constant crying
- pain or discomfort
- refusal to feed or drink water
- diaper that hasn’t been wet for 6 hours or longer
- diarrhea
- dry lips and mouth
- crying without tears
- extra sleepiness
- floppiness
- vomiting blood or fluid with black flecks (“coffee grounds”)
- lack of smile or response
- vomiting green fluid
- bloated tummy
- blood in bowel movements
You won’t usually have any control over when or how much your baby vomits. When it happens on occasion, repeat this mantra to help you cope: “Healthy babies sometimes vomit.”
However, if your baby often vomits (or spits up) after feeding, you may be able to take some preventative steps. Try these tips:
- avoid overfeeding
- give your baby smaller, more frequent feeds
- burp your baby often between feeds and after feeds
- prop up your baby so they’re upright for at least 30 minutes after feeding (but don’t prop your baby up for sleep or use anything to position them in their crib or elevate their mattress)
If your baby has a tummy bug and is old enough to eat solid foods, avoid feeding solids for about 24 hours. A liquid diet can help the stomach settle after a bout of vomiting.
Vomiting and spit-up are common in healthy babies. In most cases, you can milk feed shortly after your baby vomits. This helps to prevent your baby from getting dehydrated.
In some cases it’s best to wait a little while before trying to feed your baby again. If you’re giving your child medication like pain and fever relievers, wait a bit so the meds don’t come back up.
If your baby is vomiting a lot or seems otherwise unwell, call your pediatrician immediately. If you’re unsure if your baby’s vomiting or spit-up is cause for concern, it’s always best to check with your doctor.
Article | Neurotic vomiting in children
Bobylova M.Yu. (neurologist)
Vomiting in children is not an independent disease, but a manifestation of various diseases. Vomiting can be caused by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic diseases, tonsillitis, inflammation of the nasopharynx, pneumonia, influenza, SARS, acute appendicitis. Such vomiting is treated by a pediatrician. But there are also vomiting associated with dysfunction of the central nervous system. It develops in children of the first months of life who have undergone hypoxia during fetal development or childbirth. After 6 months, habitual vomiting is often associated with improper introduction of complementary foods if the child is force fed. Also, vomiting can be a sign of increased intracranial pressure. Vomiting attacks are characteristic of the childhood form of migraine.
In infants , especially in the first 3 months of life, regurgitation of a small amount of food (15-30 ml) 2-3 times a day is a common phenomenon that disappears with the growth of the child. The horizontal position of the baby and the relatively large amount of food predispose to the occurrence of regurgitation in healthy infants. It is also characteristic of regurgitation when swallowing air during breastfeeding, when there is not enough breast milk in the mammary gland, or when the baby does not capture the areola. With artificial feeding - swallowing of air occurs when the nipple is not completely filled with milk, when there is a large hole in the nipple, when the position of the bottle during artificial feeding is horizontal.
Swallowing air is more common in infants who are hyperexcitable, greedily sucking, and also with general muscular hypotension.
Regurgitation, unlike vomiting, occurs suddenly, does not affect the behavior and general well-being of the child, while children do not lose weight gain.
Helping a child with spitting up: firstly, immediately after feeding and during sleep, you should hold the baby in an upright position. If regurgitation has occurred, it is necessary to turn the child's head to one side, toilet the child's nose and mouth (clean it from food debris). Wash and caress the baby.
Feeding rules must be observed: the baby should be fed in a semi-vertical position, which helps to expel swallowed air. These babies should sleep with their heads up.
If regurgitation is frequent and profuse, and the baby begins to lag behind in weight, then this may be a manifestation of a disease of the stomach or intestines (pylorospasm or pylostenosis). It is necessary to contact a pediatrician for timely examination, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of complications.
Neurological disorders as a cause of vomiting in a child
The vomiting center of a person is located in the brain, therefore, in case of any damage to the head (trauma, infection, vegetative-vascular dystonia, increased intracranial pressure), vomiting occurs not associated with food intake and fever .
Vomiting in children under 1 year of age is associated with hypoxia during fetal development and at birth.
Neurotic vomiting develops as a manifestation of neurotic reactions in response to nasty and undesirable actions: coercion, protest against punishment, feeding. Functional vomiting in such children is more often combined with refusal to eat, with selectivity in food, behavioral changes, and stubbornness. More common is functional vomiting in children who are emotional, easily excitable, vulnerable. There are no signs of intoxication of the body, pain in the stomach, diarrhea or temperature in the child. This behavior requires prompt treatment to a neurologist.
Vomiting in children, even if it is not accompanied by diarrhea and fever, requires the attention of parents. In no case should you self-medicate, since for each disease the methods of treatment are different.
Only a doctor can recognize the causes of the problem after a series of examinations. To clarify the cause of constant vomiting in a child, it is necessary to clarify when it began, what kind of character it is (periodic, after each feeding), whether it is somehow connected with food intake and with the time of day. Important information about possible diseases is also provided by the diagnosis of vomit. The masses are checked for the presence of mucus, bile, milk, blood, digested and undigested food debris. When making a diagnosis, the age of the child is taken into account. If in infants and young children, in most cases, vomiting is a symptom of CNS disorders due to asphyxia (intrauterine or postpartum), trauma, defects in the gastrointestinal tract, and intolerance to cow's milk, then in older children it is a sign of a possible migraine.
Diagnostic procedures in determining the cause include ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, blood, feces, examination by a neurologist, if necessary, tomography, EEG, neurosonography. In the complex treatment of vomiting, sessions with a psychologist are important.
Help with neurotic vomiting includes a wide range of preventive and therapeutic measures that require an integrated approach.
Required tasks:
1) elimination of emotional disorders (emotional lability, irritability, anxiety, etc.;
2) treatment of asthenic manifestations, overcoming physical and mental exhaustion;
3) regulation of autonomic disorders;
4) treatment of obsessions and fears, if any;
5) correction of personality traits;
6) elimination of negative factors;
Vomiting and diarrhea in a child. Can I continue breastfeeding? – Mom-pediatrist
2 Comments to Vomiting and diarrhea in a child. Is it possible to continue breastfeeding? Is Vigodovanni's label in the breast, ditin naid anna-sheveleva-eared Cognized Bluevota, Vigodovannya, Done
9000, can be continued by the child’s breasts and fuss.![](/800/600/http/static.wixstatic.com/media/cd3043_9de15de71358421b901d549a92da3c5e~mv2_d_2200_3300_s_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000%2Ch_1000%2Cal_c%2Cq_80/file.jpg)
To this question one can hear diametrically opposite answers from doctors. Even among those specialists who work in an infectious disease hospital and face daily questions from parents about whether it is possible to continue breastfeeding with an intestinal infection in children, opinions differ.
Some doctors adhere to the principle of continuing breastfeeding.
But you can also hear from practitioners like this: “If you continue to breastfeed your baby, he will be sicker and longer.” Of course, every mother wants her child to recover faster. But it’s hard to deprive a baby of a breast, the only consolation, at a time when he is already so bad. And is this statement true?
In order to answer this question, I propose to turn to the opinion of recognized world and domestic experts.
In the global strategy of WHO and UNICEF to reduce child mortality (1), WHO experts recommend continuing breastfeeding with diarrhea and fever in children, regardless of the severity of the condition, the degree of dehydration of the child (it is also important to give extra fluid for the baby).
Chief pediatric infectious disease specialist Ministry of Health of Ukraine Head of the Department of pediatric infectious diseases of the National Medical University, Professor Kramarev S.A. . also recommends continued breastfeeding for intestinal infections in children and explains this in his book (2):
“Feeding with human milk should be continued despite diarrhea. This is because human milk lactose is well tolerated by children with diarrhea. In addition, human milk contains epithelial, transformable and insulin-like growth factors. These substances contribute to a more rapid recovery of the intestinal mucosa of children. Also, women's milk contains anti-infective factors such as lactoferrin, lysozyme, lg A, bifidum factor.
Now with regard to "being sick longer and harder". If the child is formula-fed or formula-fed , during the illness it is necessary to replace the usual formula with a specialized one - with a reduced content of lactose and partially digested cow's milk protein. Why?
Let's return for a scientific explanation to the reference book of prof. Kramareva:
“In violation of the absorption of carbohydrates and the development of secondary lactase deficiency against the background of viral, watery diarrhea, there is anxiety, bloating, regurgitation, splashing foamy stools after each feeding. At the same time, early introduction to the diet adapted formulas that contain cow's milk lactose may worsen the condition of the child and increase the duration of diarrhea . In addition, cow's milk contains allergenic proteins in the baby's body.
It is not recommended to use soy-based milk formulas in the acute period of diarrhea. An increased sensitivity of the intestinal mucosa of children to soy protein in diarrhea has been established. This increases the risk of developing protein enteropathy.”
I would be glad if this information helps you.
In a separate article - about how and what to solder and feed an older child with diarrhea and vomiting.