Causes of hiccups
Hiccups are the stomachs that have filled up either with milk (after the breast or bottle) or with air (after laughing or crying). The stomach, increasing in size, stimulates the diaphragm (the muscle that separates the belly from the lungs), which contracts uncontrollably and repeatedly. The characteristic “snag” that we hear is caused by the sudden closure of the glottis that follows each of these spasms. Hiccups last an average of 30 minutes to an hour, with a frequency ranging from four to sixty contractions per minute.
Not necessarily following a meal : Baby may have hiccups on an empty stomach, although most of the time the fit occurs during or at the end of a meal. In this case, it is not that he ate too much, but rather that he swallowed his bottle or his feed too hastily. To avoid this inconvenience, we ensure that our child eats slowly, possibly by taking breaks in the meal.
Hiccups can happen because your baby is over-stimulated: Too much agitation, too much stress can irritate him, making him swallow air and causing hiccups. To calm him down, we take him in our arms (the “lying face down” position on our forearms can be very effective) and we walk him around, patting his back, rocking him or trying to distract him. If he is obviously exhausted, even if the hiccups persist, he can be put to bed without fear.
Hiccups are normal!
Hiccups are extremely common in newborns. Some babies have it almost permanently for the first few weeks of life. If the hiccups are not accompanied by any other symptoms, there is no need to worry. If, however, the contractions prevent the child from sleeping and if they are accompanied by fever or vomiting, talk to the doctor.
These contractions are not painful, do not unduly disturb the baby or make him cry. And in our womb, he has already known this feeling.
Hiccups have no particular use. The saying of our grandmothers “Hiccupping baby, well baby!” Is not entirely correct. In reality, hiccups are neither a sign of good nor bad health. As for this other saying, according to which hiccups help babies grow taller, it’s still a misconception: hiccups have no physiological use.
Finally, hiccups occur during pregnancy. From the 20th week, a pregnant woman can feel her baby having hiccups! Hiccups occupy 1% of the fetus’ time at the end of pregnancy. With the difference that these spasms were not due to the presence of air, but of amniotic fluid.
Calm the hiccups
The best remedy to stop hiccups … is to wait ! It will eventually disappear whether something is done or not. Above all, we do not get angry, because this excites our little one more. Patience: Infant’s hiccups, in part due to an immaturity of their digestive system, usually stop on their own during the 2nd month.
No shock remedies, those traditionally recommended for older children or adults (drink a glass of very cold or very hot water without breathing, put a cold key on your back, block breathing as long as possible, startle violently, etc.) are obviously to be avoided for an infant. They would only scare him or hurt him… and would further reinforce his stress, and therefore his crisis.
If the hiccups have lasted for at least a quarter of an hour, we can give the baby pure water, sugar water or breast milk in a teaspoon. Or he is made to drink a small bottle of still, slightly cool water. You can also (but not in the first weeks), place a small drop of squeezed lemon on his tongue: the harsh taste of lemon will cause him to hold his breath, resulting in the relaxation of the diaphragm. Or gently massage our baby’s fontanel, or even press lightly with the index finger, in circular movements, on his spine, at the point located in the extension of the end of his scapula.
Homeopathy and special pacifiers: To calm baby, we can try the granules of Stramonium, Cuprum, Teucrium marum or even Hyoscyamus. To see with the homeopathic doctor. Anti-aerophagic teats, sold in pharmacies, allow the flow of milk to be adjusted more easily. They can be effective, as long as you make sure that the pacifier is always full of milk, so that the baby does not swallow air. We do not interrupt the meal if he still has the hiccups: very often, this happens during the feeding.