Anyone who has experienced infant feeding knows that spitting up happens to basically every baby. But for rookie moms, they need to be prepared with certain knowledge in order to cope calmly with their baby’s spit-up period. It is a common phenomenon in infants, and is accomplished by a series of complex neurological reflexes in the digestive tract and other related organs and organs. The milk eaten by the mouth first passes through a tube called the esophagus and then enters the stomach. The stomach has two doors, one is connected to the esophagus called the cardia, the entrance to the stomach, and the other is connected to the intestine called the pylorus, the exit of the stomach. The causes of infant vomiting can be divided into two main categories: one is due to the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the infant’s gastrointestinal tract; the other is pathological, i.e. a local symptom in case of systemic or gastrointestinal diseases. The tone of the esophageal muscles of infants is low, which can easily cause dilatation, while peristalsis is relatively slow, so food is easily sloughed up. Infants, especially one or two-month-old babies, have small stomach capacity and store little food, and the stomach does not hang down like older children and adults, but is horizontal, making it easy for food to return to the cardia, which is looser and less tightly closed, and easily flushed by food. When there is a little more food in the stomach, it can open the cardia and flow back into the esophagus. The pyloric sphincter is better developed and the pylorus is tightly closed, so it is easily stimulated by food and spasms occur, making the exit resistance greater, and food passes slowly or is difficult to pass, and food flows back from the pylorus to the cardia and breaks the door. The neural regulation of intestinal motility and the secretion of gastric acid and protease are also poor in infants. Due to the above anatomical and physiological reasons, as well as changes in environmental temperature, nutritional intake, metabolism and excretion, infants are prone to vomiting. Even under normal circumstances, if the baby eats too much and lies down immediately after eating milk, the milk will easily open the cardia and return to the mouth through the esophagus, causing vomiting. In this kind of vomiting, the vomit is mostly milk, clear gastric juice when feeding is not started, but never bloody or yellow-green liquid, and the amount is not too much. In general, vomiting due to this cause is more common, and except for intermittent vomiting, babies eat, sleep, play and gain weight well without other abnormalities. On the other hand, some medical and surgical diseases can also cause vomiting, which is less common but should never be ignored by mothers. Vomiting can be caused by milk, bloody liquid, yellowish green or fecal matter, often in large amounts and continuously, sometimes like a high-pressure water gun that can be sprayed far away, i.e. jet vomiting. The symptoms can be seen in intussusception, congenital megacolon, sepsis, intracranial hemorrhage, intracranial infection, respiratory tract infection, etc. If you encounter vomiting in these cases, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible to clarify the cause of vomiting and actively treat it. When vomiting, vomit is easy to choke into the airway and cause asphyxia and aspiration pneumonia, but also easy to cause water, electrolyte disorders and acid-base balance disorders, longer vomiting can also lead to malnutrition. If mothers cannot distinguish whether it is due to pathological factors, they can take their babies to a specialist hospital to see a doctor. The difference between spitting up and overflowing milk It is important to find out whether your baby is spitting up or overflowing milk, as the causes of both are different, and the performance and treatment methods are also different. Overflow is not a complex series of excitatory reflexes involving the neuromuscles during vomiting, and is not true vomiting. It is a normal physiological phenomenon that can occur soon after birth. Most of them have 1-2 mouthfuls of milk flowing back into the mouth and corners of the mouth without pressure and non-jetting after feeding; a few of them have milk overflow caused by changing position a little later after feeding, and can have milk clots. The cause of milk overflow is related to the underdevelopment of the elastic and muscular tissues of the esophagus. Milk overflow can occur once or more times a day, but the general condition is good and does not affect growth and development, and it gradually decreases with age and disappears within 6-8 months after birth. The usual spitting up refers to the characteristics of the infant’s physiological anatomy, combined with improper feeding. The main ones are: the baby is more prone to vomiting when lying down to eat milk than when holding up; the number of feedings is too frequent, the baby’s stomach is always in a state of fullness, and it is easy to vomit when eating milk; the amount of milk fed is too much, exceeding the capacity of the baby’s stomach; the brand of milk powder is variable, and the baby’s stomach and intestines have difficulty adapting to vomiting; the concentration of milk is not appropriate; the pacifier opening is too large, and the milk enters the stomach in a short period of time in a hurry, leading to acute gastric dilatation and inevitable vomiting; the pacifier is too large, and the milk enters the stomach in a short period of time in a hurry. If the pacifier opening is too small, the baby will cry desperately because of hunger and lack of satisfaction, and will need to suck vigorously, and the air will be easily sucked into the mouth from the corner of the mouth and then into the stomach, which will easily cause vomiting; the baby will cry noisily before feeding; the mother’s nipple is sunken or the nipple hole is facing the child’s pharyngeal hole; for formula-fed babies, the temperature of the milk is not suitable, too hot or too cold, or the milk is not filled with the nipple when feeding with a bottle. The baby will swallow the air in the teat into the stomach at the same time as eating the milk; lying down or turning the baby too much or too early after feeding …… not every time after feeding will vomit, the amount of vomiting is also variable, it can happen soon after feeding or half an hour later, the vomit is milk or milk clot, improving the feeding method can prevent vomiting. How to deal with baby vomiting The opening of the esophagus and the opening of the trachea are connected in the throat. The most fearful thing when vomiting is the sudden reversal of milk from the esophagus to the throat, just when the baby inhales, accidentally entering the trachea and causing choking. When the amount is large, it can cause airway blockage, inability to breathe, and life-threatening suffocation and oxygen deprivation. If the amount is small, it can be inhaled directly into the deep lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. In the case of minor spills and vomiting, babies usually adjust their breathing and swallowing actions on their own and do not choke on their milk. However, it is still necessary to carefully analyze the reasons why your baby spits up, and according to the specific reasons mentioned above, you can gradually investigate and improve the feeding. If your baby does not choke after vomiting, you should suspend feeding and carefully observe the baby’s breathing and skin color, and then feed carefully after the baby is stable. Clean the mouth, face and neck skin promptly after vomiting, and change the contaminated clothes and bed sheets. If your baby vomits a lot, please do the following: 1. Turn your head to the side: If vomiting occurs while lying down, immediately turn your baby’s head to the side so that the vomit does not flow backward into the throat and trachea due to gravity; and quickly use a small handkerchief or towel to clean up the milk in the mouth and nose. 2. Pat the back: If you find that the baby is spitting up and cannot breathe or turn blue, it means that the spit-up has entered the trachea. Immediately make him/her lie prone on the adult’s lap, hip high and head down, and pat his/her back four to five times so that he/she can cough up and establish independent breathing. Take her to the nearest hospital as soon as possible for further treatment. The first time a mother sees her baby spitting up, she may be very worried and overwhelmed. In fact, if you pay attention to the following aspects, you can prevent your baby from spitting up. 1, the use of appropriate feeding position and feeding speed, may be afraid of the baby tired, or sleep time at night to facilitate breastfeeding, many mothers are to take the baby lying down feeding method, in fact, this is not very scientific. Due to the physiological characteristics of the baby’s esophagus and stomach, lying down can easily cause milk to be retained in the stomach, resulting in spitting up. When breastfeeding in the prone position, it is better to feed the baby with the head high and the feet low, and with the baby’s head on one side. The best breastfeeding position is to pick up the baby and let the baby’s body tilt at about 45 degrees, so that the milk inhaled into the stomach can easily enter the intestines, which can effectively reduce the chance of spitting up due to lying down for breastfeeding. Some babies are in a hurry to eat milk, so you should control the speed of feeding and give a certain interval to let your baby take a break before eating, so that you can avoid spitting up. When breastfeeding, use your four fingers to hold up the breast and place your thumb on the nipple at the areola to slow down the flow of milk, or use your fingers to put pressure on the areola to control the flow rate if there is a lot of milk and pressure. Some parents want their babies to eat more and grow faster, so if they feed their babies too much milk and more than their stomachs can handle, they will definitely vomit, so the amount of milk should be set according to the baby’s age, weight and actual situation, and gradually increased. Some parents feed their babies irregularly, or worry about their babies being hungry, and feed them when they want to eat, with a short interval of about half an hour to an hour, so that their babies’ stomachs are always in a state of fullness and are prone to vomiting, which is not conducive to the maturation of gastrointestinal function. It is best to get into the habit of feeding your baby once every 2-3 hours, and to have enough milk each time but not too much. 3. The size of the milk hole should be appropriate and the milk should be filled with milk. It is important to let the baby’s mouth wrap around the entire nipple and not leave any gap to prevent air from entering. When bottle-feeding, the nipple opening should be moderate, and the milk should be completely filled with the nipple, not just half of the nipple, as this will make it easier to suck in air and spit up. 4. After feeding, make sure your baby has a burp. Pay special attention to the fact that you must let your baby have a burp after feeding. Hold the baby upright and lean on the mother’s shoulder, turn the palm of your hand into a hollow shape and pat the baby’s back to make him burp and discharge the air he inhaled from his stomach while breastfeeding. If your baby cries a lot before breastfeeding or is in a hurry to eat milk, pick him up and pat him on the back when he is halfway through his milk intake, burp him and then continue to eat milk. 5. You should not let your baby lie on his back immediately after breastfeeding. After breastfeeding, you can let your baby lean on your mother’s shoulder and stand for a while, then put your baby to bed slowly and gently, and it is better to be in a slope position or right side lying position, and then lie on his back after a while. It is not advisable to lift the lower limbs for a short time after breastfeeding to change the diaper.