Various Causes of Frequent Vomiting in Babies and How to Overcome It

Babies often vomit actually quite reasonable, especially if the baby is only a few weeks old. This is because the baby's stomach is still adjusting to the portion of breast milk or formula milk taken. However, digestive problems are not the only reason babies often vomit. Vomiting in infants is a condition of involuntary bowel discharge. When this happens, babies tend to be fussy. Vomiting that comes out just like that, usually after breastfeeding, is generally caused by the baby's stomach not being able to accommodate the incoming food.

Various Causes of Frequent Vomiting Babies

There are various causes for babies to vomit often, from the natural ones to watch out for. Among them:

• Eat or drink too much and fast

As mentioned previously, the size of the stomach of a baby who is still small needs to be adjusted to the portion of milk or food. Babies need to burp so that food can fit in the stomach. Forcing a baby to eat too much too fast can make a baby vomit.

• Have a gag reflex

Babies who have a sensitive gag reflex will tend to vomit foods or medicines that they don't like. In this case, the baby will spit out food shortly after swallowing.

• Have stomach acid disease

Acid reflux disease occurs when the muscular circle between the esophagus and stomach in infants is still developing. Acid reflux disease can cause food from the stomach back up into the esophagus, and can also make it hiccup. Sometimes the food that returns to the esophagus goes a little to the throat, so that the little one coughs.

• Having indigestion

Babies often vomit suddenly accompanied by diarrhea, which can indicate gastroenteritis indigestion. This condition is often caused by a viral infection, and sometimes also by bacteria and parasites.

• Allergy to milk or food

Babies who vomit after breastfeeding may experience protein allergies, both in breast milk and formula milk. This condition arises because the baby's immune system overreacts to the protein in the milk it drinks. Cases of milk allergy are rarely found in babies, but if this happens to your baby, consult your pediatrician immediately.

• Milk or food intolerance

Because of the similar symptoms, it is clinically difficult to distinguish whether vomiting in infants is caused by milk allergy or intolerance. In contrast to allergies, this condition occurs because the baby has difficulty digesting the lactose found in cow's milk because the baby does not have enough digestive enzymes to digest lactose.

• Pyloric stenosis

Pyloric stenosis occurs because the muscles that control the valve that leads from the stomach to the intestine thicken. This makes the food and milk can not flow into the intestine, so it stays stuck in the stomach or even up into the esophagus. This condition, which usually occurs within 30 minutes after eating, is generally experienced by babies aged around 6 weeks, but can occur at any time before they reach 4 months of age. Because this condition can cause other health problems, such as dehydration and malnutrition, your baby needs a doctor's treatment as soon as possible.

• Having a serious illness

Babies often vomit, especially after breastfeeding, is indeed a natural thing. But that does not mean parents can ignore this condition, because vomiting can also be a symptom of meningitis, urinary tract infections, or appendicitis. Accompanying symptoms of vomiting that need to be aware of in infants are fever, weakness, refusing to drink, and appearing congested.

How to Overcome Frequent Vomiting Babies

How to deal with frequent vomiting infants, especially vomiting after eating or breastfeeding, is enough to help him burp. Carry the baby in an upright position 30 minutes after eating. Position the baby on your chest so that the chin rests on your shoulder. Support his head with your hand, while your other hand gently patted your little back. In addition, you can also do the following methods, according to the cause of babies vomiting often:

• Feed your baby slowly the food.
• For babies who are able to consume solid foods or solid foods, make the texture of the food more dense so it is not easy to vomit again.
• If vomiting is accompanied by diarrhea, replace the lost fluid by giving ORS. Provision of ORS should be consulted with a doctor first. After that, feed the little one as usual.
• If your baby vomits often after formula feeding, you can switch to soy-based formula milk or special formula milk that does not contain lactose.
• If your child is diagnosed with pyloric stenosis, this condition can be treated with surgery.

Some conditions to watch out for in cases of babies vomiting often are vomiting blood, yellow or green vomiting, vomiting accompanied by coughing or choking, vomiting accompanied by high fever, and vomiting without interruption for 12 hours. You should also immediately check your child to a pediatrician, if you lose weight due to a lot of food wasted when vomiting.