Why does a child often hiccup and what should be done?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

A newborn baby brings joy and happy laughter to any family. Newly made mothers are very timid and literally do not take their eyes off the child. They stay up at night, looking closely at their baby, and try to study their baby right down to the last mole. However, from time to time, the mother notices with fright that her child convulsively shudders, hiccups and cries. Frightened, she rushes to look for information - why does the child often hiccup and what does it mean?

The nature of hiccups

In order to understand the causes of children's hiccups, it is necessary to remember why this process happens in adults and what it threatens. We often hiccup, but this does not last long, so sometimes we do not notice the beginning and end of the process, especially if we are passionate about something at that moment. Hiccups are essentially convulsive contractions of the diaphragm due to irritants.

Hiccups can be caused by:

• Overeating. Alas, this is the most common irritant that causes seizures.

• Cooling. Cold is a fairly common cause of hiccups.

• Fright. Yes Yes,fright can also cause seizures.

• Swallowing air. Accidentally swallowed air can often cause this trouble.

However, everyone knows that hiccups are a fairly fast passing thing, disappearing in just a few minutes.

Hiccups in children

The answer to the question why a baby often hiccups lies on the surface: for the same reasons as we do. Attacks arise from hearty food, from hypothermia, from air, etc. The main thing is to understand what affects the occurrence of this trouble.

For example, swallowing air can be caused by the wrong shape of the nipple on the bottle, through which the baby receives food. Or the reason may be the wrong position of the child during feeding. These 2 reasons happen most often, the elimination of which will save mommy from such problems.

Sometimes hiccups can occur after bathing a baby in a tub. Usually in such cases, newly-made mothers cannot understand for a long time what is the matter, if the child is a week old, often hiccups after bathing. The problem is that babies have very delicate skin, and even a slight change in air temperature can make them shudder in bouts of hiccups.

How to help your baby

Some women, while still carrying a future baby under their hearts, prefer to study in advance all the information that will be useful to them in the future, and are engaged in preliminary preparation for the upcoming care of the baby. Some questions they worry about the whole pregnancy - why the childoften hiccups, for example, and how to deal with it. Here are some helpful tips on this matter:

• Keep an eye on your baby while feeding. You can not give the baby a breast, holding him in a horizontal position, because he will “eat up” more air than milk. You should also carefully choose a newborn nipple with which he will eat. It should be perfect for feeding your baby.

• Keep loud noises, bright lights and other irritants out of your baby's presence. By doing this, you will prevent the occurrence of fright and hiccups.

• Wrap your baby in a warm blanket after bathing. It is advisable to perform this procedure as quickly as possible so that the baby does not have time to freeze.

• Don't overfeed your baby. The fact is that a full stomach presses on the diaphragm, which causes its convulsive contraction. Feed your baby smaller meals. Very often this problem occurs with older children, therefore, in order not to be tormented by the question - why a two-month-old baby often hiccups - do not try to force food into the baby.

• Give your baby a few drops of lemon juice under the tongue or some freshly brewed chamomile. This should affect the hiccup process and stop it. It is worth remembering that this miracle cure should be used only in the most extreme cases.

Here are a few tips that will help you in the process of caring for a tiny lump, following which you will not have a question - why the child often hiccups.

What is strictly prohibited

It is not recommended to scare the baby in the hope of getting rid of hiccups. This method not only does not justify itself, but can also do great harm to the baby. The fact is that after severe stress, the child will begin to suffer even more bouts of hiccups. Such situations are not uncommon. Moreover, from a sudden fright, a child can be so frightened that later you will have to treat him also for stuttering.

In order not to ask later the question - why a month-old baby often hiccups, you do not need to listen to "good" advisers, in the role of which grandmothers or compassionate neighbors can often turn out to be.

Hiccups as a dangerous symptom

Sometimes hiccups can serve as a wake-up call for parents to beware. It should be remembered that normal hiccups should stop within 20 minutes. If the seizure lasts more than half an hour, it is an alarm.

Frequently recurring seizures indicate that not everything is in order with a small body. So, why does a baby often hiccup?

If you carefully checked and removed all the factors that could affect the occurrence of seizures, but this did not help, you should urgently contact the pediatrician who is registered with your baby. The fact is that prolonged and painful hiccups may be evidence of such pathologies:

• typical poisoning;

• high blood sugar;

•mental disorders;

• malignant neoplasms in the brain;

• infection;

• pinched nerve of the diaphragm;

• parasites in the gut.

Only after the full delivery of all the necessary tests, the doctor will be able to make a diagnosis and give a detailed answer to the question - why the child often hiccups. Do not be afraid of the above list, it is possible that the baby had a pinched phrenic nerve during childbirth - this situation is most common.

When to see a doctor

If you are alerted by the above symptoms, you should observe the baby for several days. Enough 3 days. If hiccups indicate a pathology, then it will be accompanied by pain in the child - he will scream and cry at the same time.

You should also pay attention to the duration. As already noted, a normal attack lasts up to about half an hour, and in the last minutes everything passes and the baby does not notice that he hiccups. If this happens loudly and excitedly, sign up with a pediatrician.

Hiccup Prevention

A new mother may notice even in the hospital that the baby is often subject to convulsive seizures. This can alert her and make her anxious. Yet, why do newborn babies often hiccup? What is causing this?

Our body is designed in such a way that all organs and functions performed by them are interconnected. Hiccups, in fact, help excess food to be digested faster in the stomach, and is alsosometimes a signal of some need. For example, in a liquid. Or warm.

Scientists have long proven that a baby begins to hiccup while still in the womb, and this is a perfectly normal natural process. Don't focus on seizures. However, if you are still worried about intermittent hiccups, then there are certain preventive measures that are well known to doctors.

Hiccup Prevention

For example, after each feeding, you need to achieve belching from the baby. For this, there are special techniques that can be learned even in the hospital. Nurses and neonatologists will be happy to tell you about them and teach you how to use them.

You also need to make sure that the baby does not want to drink. Sometimes intense thirst is the source of seizures. Therefore, give your child water in time, and you will not have a question - why the child often hiccups.

It is advisable to pay more attention to the fact that the baby is not in the cold for a long time. This can lead not only to bouts of hiccups, but also to hypothermia and, as a result, to colds.