Not AT: Acid Reflux in Newborns?

[Guest guest]

Hi Stacey,

I have heard about this only when my grand daughter was born.

 

I have a really hard time believing that a newborn can be afflicted by this.

Not quite sure how the MD's are even diagnosing & knowing what is suppose to be

normal in such a tiny baby.

 

Since we know a baby being born is very hard on them. And from first hand

knowledge know their tiny little spinal column can get turned, twisted and all

from coming through the birth canal or even sometimes just in utero.

 

We are firm believers in chiropractors and with our own sons we had one that

never kept his milk down (I breast fed all) until he had his very first spinal

adjustment. Then almost immediately he never spit up again!

 

So, I'm not saying a little infant can't have Acid Reflux, its just that I

personally would hesitate giving any 'acid reducing' meds. (The acid is there

to kill germs!)

 

Anyway, if it were my baby, that has excessive spitting (and what new born

doesn't) I think I'd try alternative and find a chiropractor willing to check

out the back. Not all chiropractors will work on infants. The ones we used

back 30-35 years ago did and I'm so Thankful as we have 3 strapping men today!

 

ie - One of our sons had turned abruptly between contractions and had caused a

nerve to become pinched in his neck that affected his right arm. The damage

did not show up until he was 3 weeks old.

 

The Medical Doctor said that we would need to 'watch' him and see if he started

to use it. Then go from there - physical therapy, etc. Well, me not wanting to

wait took him to our chiropractor.

 

After several adjustments that little arm was moving and flailing around like

the other arm and had regained it's color (nice pink) and was nice and warm

again!

 

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

 

Penny

 

Your One Stop Aromatherapy Shop!

Birch Hill Happenings Aromatherapy LLC

100% Pure Essential oils and Supplies

http://birchhillhappenings.com/aroma1.htm

Since 1997

 

ATFE , " staceymst3k " <millerslm1 wrote:

>

> Just ran across a question about natural remedies for infants with acid

reflux. I'm thinking chamomile may be helpful. Anyone have experience/research

references for this?

>

> TIA,

> Stacey

>

> While I am here: Please continue to treat each other with respect in our

well-intentioned family. We are a unique group in that we that started with the

intention of helping each other with no gain other than broadening our community

as a whole and sharing what we know freely in exchange for a 4-line signature

line. Nothing more.

>

> Negativity, non-objective posts, slander/insults/slurs go completely against

the grain and are never appropriate in ATFE. (Though healthy, objective debate

is always appreciated!) XOXO

>

[Guest guest]

Hi There,

 

I think that there must be a distinction between acid reflux the windy return of

milk.

 

My friends very small baby(a few months old) was spitting up an enormous amount

of milk (breastfed baby) and everytime doing so was crying in agony...now if you

are breastfeeding 8-12(or more) times a day and everytime they feed they are is

spitting up and crying the house down then there is a problem. Incidently both

my babies were pukers but they never cried as a result - in fact they stopped

crying as a result because they were relieved to get the wind and excess milk

up. Anyway my friend went to the doctor on numerous occassions and they said

much the same as everyone else,that it is normal, until they found that the baby

was failing to put weight on due to vomitting too much milk. Not only that they

said there is the danger of burning the aesophagus too - not pleasant at

all.(incidently hydrochloric acid is meant to stay in the stomach and not rise

to the gullet)The paediatritian gave her some conventional medication for a

while and now she is absolutely fine, there is absolutely no problem with her

gastric flora and fauna so far and she is happy when she feeds.

 

I had severe acid reflux when I was pregnant, not too long ago. Nothing would

help even gaviscon (chalk based remedy) and i was downing the stuff in the end.

There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night coughing up

acidic bile - believe me it is not pleasant. Now i knew what it was and it was

bad, but a poor little baby doesnt have a clue what is happening.

 

Rebecca

 

 

ATFE , " Marcia Elston " <Marcia wrote:

>

>

> So, I'm not saying a little infant can't have Acid Reflux, its just that I

> personally would hesitate giving any 'acid reducing' meds. (The acid is

> there to kill germs!)

>

>

> Penny

>

>

> Agreeing with Penny wholeheartedly here. Infants, especially newborns, are

> just beginning to develop their internal functioning, and it seems that the

> most difficulty is with regard to digestion. Acid reducing medication

> sometimes prohibits the body from producing those necessary acids for

> digestion altogether, not just reduce it. I'm not familiar with

> chiropractic for an infant, but our family has used it at all ages from

> about 12 on. Most discomfort with an infant will respond to loving touch

> and comfort. Sometimes this is all that is needed, a little gentle tummy

> rub, cooing and coddling. After all, they don't know that their emotional

> upset makes their pain worse because of the tension they themselves are

> creating. If you can help reduce that tension, they can more easily deal

> with their adjustments into the world. I'm of the school that we should not

> use essential oils on infants under 3 months at all, and preferably even 6

> months. Infants need to ease into the world with tiny little changes or

> additions to their lives. Keep them mostly snuggly wrapped and still for the

> 1st month or so. My two cents worth here. And, boning up myself for newest

> grandaughter to come into our family in May. :-)

>

> Be Well,

> Marcia Elston, Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence

> http://www.wingedseed.com <http://www.wingedseed.com/>

> http://www.wingedseed.blogspot.com <http://www.wingedseed.blogspot.com/>

> http://www.aromaconnection.org <http://www.aromaconnection.org/>

> " We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. " - Winston

> Churchill

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've had clients whose babies were dx'd with acid reflux due to the projectile

vomitting...it wasn't just spitting up. I have no experience myself and agree

with the query of how it is determined. Especially since I had another client

whose baby was dx'd with reflux and in hindsight my client thinks it was likely

just " colic. " Might be worthy of looking into further along those lines.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of chiro work. My entire family sees one once a month. If you

cannot find a chiro well-versed in pediatric/infantile adjustments seek out a

CranioSacral Therapy practitioner...it's a gentle approach and has garnered

great outcomes.

 

Infant massage, performed by the parents/family members, may be beneficial as

well.

 

Jessica, NC

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

[Guest guest]

Newborns can indeed have acid reflux. Often, this resolves if the

women stop supplementing breastmilk with formula. I'm always having

to push clients a bit. I ask, " Are you exclusively breastfeeding? "

They respond, " Oh, yes, of course!! " Then after a few iterations,

they say, " Well, my mother-in-law (or husband or someone) really,

really wants to feed the baby, so we do give her 1 (or 2 or 3 or 4)

bottles of formula a day. "

 

And sometimes an exclusively breastfed infant will have something

serious going on. I refer the clients to certified lactation

consultants because most doctors I know tend to lack skills and

knowledge in this area. The certified lactation consultant will

refer, as needed, to truly knowledgeable doctors.

 

I would not give anything other than breast milk to an infant under 6

months, unless the baby really needs it - convenience doesn't count.

Babies' guts are really much more tender than we used to think.

 

 

Trish Ross

Midwives on Missions of Service

www.globalmidwives.org

[Guest guest]

Hi Stacey,

 

From my decade working as a baby nurse (not a medical designation - just highly

specialized newborn/new parent care and support) I can make a few

recommendations.

 

First - I am a HUGE fan of keeping a record/diary of all feedings and baby's

other important bodily functions for at least the first 3 months of their life.

It can be enormously helpful in picking out patterns and abnormalities that will

help diagnose and correct both behavioral and biologically based problems. One

baby I cared for developed pyloric stenosis - and the doctor was able to

diagnose it from a description of the symptoms and from looking at the

feeding/barfing patterns over the course of a couple days in the baby's diary!

They confirmed with an MRI that morning and the baby was scheduled for life

saving surgery 36 hours later! The reality is that most pediatricians are not

lactation specialists, and are not very well versed in the general development

of a baby's gut. Additionally - they are lucky to get 15 minutes with the baby,

and that is rarely enough time to get the kind of in depth history needed to

really know what is going on - my experience (and this was at the admission of a

couple pediatricians) is that often reflux and colic are a guess, or a default

diagnosis.

 

Some babies have a harder time adjusting to life outside the womb. If they tend

to be kind of high strung, or extra sensitive, especially as they get ravenously

hungry as a feed approaches, 20-40 ml of weak chamomile tea (unsweetened) can

work wonders to take the edge off, and helps them to nurse more calmly and

steadily afterward. This means they take in a lot less air, so are less likely

to give up their feed when the are burped.

 

Lots of babies I have cared for that were thought to be colicky or to have

reflux were simply not burped frequently or effectively enough. It's a real

skill, and doesn't get nearly enough attention. Babies under 6 months have a

very difficult time working burps out - even with help! If they don't get those

bubbles out as a burp, they have to work their way through the entire digestive

system before they can exit the backside, and that is one painful journey for

the baby to endure! Gripe water can help, but mostly, they need to be burped -

several times each feed!

 

There is some encouraging research regarding the use of a particular pro-biotic

with colicky babies - I have used it many times with significant improvement -

sometimes complete resolution of the problem:

 

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/1/e124

 

I absolutely agree with Penny regarding breastfeeding exclusively if at all

possible, especially for the first 6 months. If a baby does need to have

supplemental formula, I recommend mixing it (1/1 if possible) with some

expressed breastmilk. I have seen this practice make a huge difference in how

well the baby is able to digest and tolerate the formula supplement.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Lisa

 

ATFE , " staceymst3k " <millerslm1 wrote:

>

> Just ran across a question about natural remedies for infants with acid

reflux. I'm thinking chamomile may be helpful. Anyone have experience/research

references for this?

>

> TIA,

> Stacey

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much, Penny, Marcia, Rebecca, Jessica, Trish and Lisa for your

input on this. I'm passing along all of your comments and they will be *much*

appreciated. :-)

 

Thank you!,

Stacey