Baby reflux, diagnose, causes and prevention | Baby Dribble the Podcast episode 16

Lynda and Lucy here again and welcome to this week’s podcast. Today we are very privileged to have a special guest here with us in our studio, The Baby Reflux Lady – Aine Homer.

Aine has multiple master’s degrees and has also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine so we are very excited to get the chance to talk to her today on the baby dribble podcast. We’ll be covering everything from how to read your baby’s symptoms, to the impact reflux can have on yours and your baby’s sleep.

For further information please visit: www.thebabyrefluxlady.co.uk

***Competition closes midnight 31st July 2019***

Baby Reflux

We were lucky enough to be joined by Aine Homer on our recent podcast. Aine is the baby reflux lady and her mission is to eradicate baby reflux. After experiencing little support from medical professionals during the early stages of her little one’s life’s, she is keen to ensure no-one feels as she did. So, to ensure we covered as much as we could we asked Aine some burning reflux questions for her to answer.

What is reflux and what can be the causes?

Reflux is a regurgitation from the stomach into the oesophagus and usually this regurgitation contains stomach acid. This acid burns and irritates the oesophagus making it very uncomfortable. We all have the ability to reflux however ongoing reflux is not normal. In infants there can be many different reasons from gene defects to air build up in the stomach. All babies are born with a weaker muscle tone therefore their sphincter (ring muscle) at the base of the oesophagus won’t be mature until they grow. This will normally get a little better once children start to eat more solid food and feed in an upright position such as a high chair for instance.

What are some symptoms and how can we figure how what is happening with our babies?

There are so many symptoms of reflux and there are not x number of symptoms that present themselves. Common signs can be arching of the back, trapped wind, bloating, grunting, squirming and not wanting to lie down.

To find out what the main causes are, we need to keep a detailed food diary and subsequently a record of every symptom that then appears. If we do this for 6 weeks we should start to see a pattern to help us determine the underlying causes.

What actions can we take to help our babies

The actions we take are different depending on the symptoms. A big way we can help tackle reflux is by keeping little ones upright and minimize babies crying. The more a baby cries the more air goes into the stomach which can increase the symptoms. Another check we can have done by our health visitor or midwife is for tongue tie. Babies with tongue tie struggle to digest milk and end up taking in more air.

Is medication an option?

Medication is an option as it has a role to play with helping minimize pain and long lasting damage to the oesophagus due to unwanted stomach acid. Medication can help short term in these areas whilst then addressing the underlying cause.

As always if you have any concerns about your little one and reflux, please consult a medical professional to determine the best course of action for your baby.

We also asked our Instagram followers some myths around reflux to see how savvy we are when it comes to baby reflux,

There is not cure for colic?
61% True – False 39%

Yes this is true however if we are able to look at the underlying causes as discussed above, we can reduce significantly colic induced symptoms.

Your baby will grow out of reflux
88% True – False 12%

Yes technically your baby will mature along with their digestive system which in turn will help their reflux symptoms.

What mum eats does not transfer into her breastmilk
19% True – False 81%

This is false, anything that a mum eats can transfer into babies breastmilk causing colic related symptoms.

That’s everything from us here today, a big thank you for Aine for coming to speak with us. Competition winner of the baby reflux Lady’s Survival Guide was Frances Grainger, congratulations.

Baa for now x

Also read: what is nesting? is it a real thing?