Baby Spitting Up Clear Liquid

January 5, 2023January 5, 2023

It is not unusual to see your little angel spitting up milk or clear liquid. Sometimes, you see it’s becoming difficult for them to keep anything down. This makes mothers to ask a question, “Is baby spitting up clear liquid normal?” Keep reading to find out more about what causes this situation and if you can find something to eradicate the issue.

Is Spitting Up Clear Liquid Normal?

Spiting up, also called gastroesophageal reflux or simply reflux, refers to mild vomiting or regurgitation of milk, food or even saliva. You will have to deal with this when you have an infant at home. This is more common when you feed your baby – it usually happens when your baby burps. If you’re only noticing clear liquid coming out of your baby’s mouth, that’s nothing to worry about because it’s just saliva. You don’t usually need to worry even if your baby’s spitting a milky-white liquid because that’s usually formula or breast milk.

However, you need to understand that there is more than just one type of spit-up. The most common type is when your baby spit up water liquid with a few small chunks of white cheesy-creamy stuff in it. You notice your baby spitting this way quickly after a feeding. This usually happens when your baby burps that brings up excess saliva and partially curdled milk.

Sometimes, you will notice your infant spitting up a large amount of milky white stuff with white chunks in it. This usually results from a strong gag reflex triggered by a burp. Excessive horsing around right after eating may also cause this situation. One rare but possible cause of spitting up milky-white chunky stuff is nausea from a sickness.

All in all, baby spitting up clear liquid is normal in most cases. If you think it’s caused by nausea from a sickness, you may consider getting in touch with your doctor to ensure there’s nothing serious.

What Causes Spitting Up in Your Baby?

Whatever you drink or eat goes into your stomach through the feeding tube,different acids will mix with food in your stomach and pass it into the intestines where further digestion will take place. There’s a valve between the stomach and the esophagus that ensures what you eat or drink doesn’t come back up and out of your stomach. However, the valve is not well developed in infants, so you will more often see milk and saliva coming out of their stomach. Similarly, if you’re feeding too much of food, it will again result in regurgitation because your baby’s stomach is still quite small. The valve will develop as your baby grows, and this will keep anything they eat from coming out of the stomach when fully developed.

Is Your Baby Spitting Up Too Much?

There’s no such thing as spitting up too much, especially if your baby is eating regularly even after a heavy spit-up. Another sign that can show whetherthere’s something wrong with your baby spitting up too much or not is his/her body weight. If they continue to gain weight, it just means they are getting enough to eat. Actually, a baby spits up entire feeding in very rare instances. That’s mainly because the digestion begins as soon as an infant swallow the first mouthful. For a 3-4 months baby, the rate of digestion is around 1ounce every 15 minutes. It means that if you’re feeding your baby about 5-6 ounces and the process lasts around half an hour, your little angel tends to have already digested most of their food.

However, it is a good idea to discuss your concern with your doctor if you think your baby empties everything in his/her stomach. This will help rule out the possibility of having an underlying health condition.

When Should You Worry About Your Baby’s Spitting Up?

As mentioned already, there is usually nothing you need to worry about baby spitting up clear liquid. However, you may notice certain symptoms that indicate an underlying condition. Be sure to contact your baby’s doctor if you notice the following symptoms:

• Your baby isn’t gaining weight.
• Your baby vomits consistently and forcefully.
• Your baby spits up yellow or green fluid or fluid with blood in it.
• Your baby doesn’t allow any feedings and has blood in stool as well.

You should also seek immediate medical attention if your baby is spitting up clear liquid and has difficulty breathing at the same time. Your baby’s doctor will consider other symptoms and prescribe medication to treat the condition.

How to Reduce Your Baby’s Spitting Up

Spitting up clear liquid isn’t anything you should worry about, but you can use certain tips to help reduce his/her spitting up.

• Make sure to keep your baby in an upright position while feeding and help your baby be in a sitting position for half an hour after each feeding. Don’t play with your baby right after feeding.
• Be sure to limit the length of each feeding, especially when you’re breast-feeding your baby. Small, more-frequent feedings will help reduce the frequency of spitting up.
• Be sure to help your baby burp because this prevents air from building up in your baby’s stomach.
• Make sure to put your baby to sleep on his/her back because this will reduce the risk of SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome and also play a role in limiting how often your baby spits up.
• Try to change your own diet if you’re breast-feeding to see how it affects your baby spitting up clear liquid.

Why Babies Spit Up – HealthyChildren.org

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By: Alejandro Velez, MD, FAAP & Christine Waasdorp Hurtado, MD, FAAP

All babies spit up. Some babies spit up more than others, or at certain times.

Typically, babies spit up after they gulp down some air with breastmilk or formula. A baby’s stomach is small and can’t hold a lot, after all. Milk and air can fill it up quickly.

With a full stomach, any change in position such as bouncing or sitting up can force the flap between the esophagus (food pipe) and stomach to open. And when that flap (the esophageal sphincter) opens, that’s when some of what your baby just ate can make a return appearance.

So, what can you do―if anything―to reduce the amount of your baby’s spit up? How do you know if your baby’s symptoms are part of a larger problem? Read on to learn more.

Common concerns parents have about spit up

My baby spits up a little after most feedings.

• 
  Possible cause:
  Gastroesophageal reflux (normal if mild)

• 
  Action to take: None. The spitting up will grow less frequent and stop as your baby’s muscles mature—especially that flap we talked about earlier. It often just takes time.

My baby gulps their feedings and seems to have a lot of gas.

• 
  Possible cause: Aerophagia (swallowing more air than usual)

• 
  Action to take: Make sure your baby is positioned properly during feeds. Also be sure to burp the baby during and after feeds. Consider trying a different bottle to decrease your baby’s ability to suck in air.

My baby spits up when you bounce them or play with them after meals.

My baby’s spitting up has changed to vomiting with muscle contractions that occur after every feeding. The vomit shoots out with force.

I found blood in my baby’s spit-up or vomit.

• 
  Possible cause: Swelling of the esophagus or stomach (esophagitis or gastritis), or another health problem that requires diagnosis and treatment.

• 
  Action to take: Call you pediatrician right away so they can examine your baby.

Remedies for spitty babies

Regardless of whether or not your baby’s spit up warrants watchful waiting or medical intervention, there are some simple feeding suggestions that can help you deal with the situation at hand.

5 tips to reduce your baby’s spit up

• 
  Avoid overfeeding. Like a gas tank, fill baby’s stomach it too full (or too fast) and it’s going to spurt right back out at you. To help reduce the likelihood of overfeeding, feed your baby smaller amounts more frequently.

• 
  Burp your baby more frequently. Extra gas in your baby’s stomach has a way of stirring up trouble. As gas bubbles escape, they have an annoying tendency to bring the rest of the stomach’s contents up with them. To minimize the chances of this happening, burp not only after, but also during meals.

• 
  Limit active play after meals and hold your baby upright. Pressing on a baby’s belly right after eating can up the odds that anything in their stomach will be forced into action. While
  tummy time is important for babies, postponing it for a while after meals can serve as an easy and effective avoidance technique.

• 
  Consider the formula. If your baby is
  formula feeding, there’s a possibility that their formula could be contributing to their spitting up. While some babies simply seem to fare better with one formula over another without having a true
  allergy or intolerance, an estimated 5% of babies are genuinely unable to handle the proteins found in milk or soy formula―a condition called Cow Milk Protein Intolerance/Allery (CMPI and CMPA). In either case, spitting up may serve as one of several cues your baby may give you that it’s time to discuss alternative formulas with your pediatrician. If your baby does have a true intolerance, a 1- or 2-week trial of hypoallergenic (hydrolyzed) formula designed to be better tolerated might be recommended by your baby’s provider.

• 
  If breastfeeding, consider your diet. Cow’s milk and soy in your diet can worsen spit up in infants with Cow Milk Protein Intolerance/Allergy (CMPI and CMPA). Removing these proteins can help to reduce or eliminate spit up.

• 
  Try a little oatmeal. Giving babies cereal before 6 months is generally not recommended—with one possible exception. Babies and children with dysphagia or reflux, for example, may need their food to be thicker in order to swallow safely or reduce reflux. In response to concerns over
  arsenic in rice, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends parents of children with these conditions use of oatmeal instead of rice cereal.
  See
  
  Oatmeal: The Safer Alternative for Infants & Children Who Need Thicker Food for more information.

Vomit vs. spit up: what’s the difference?

There is a big difference between vomiting and spitting up:

Vomiting is the forceful throwing up of stomach contents through the mouth. This typically involves using the abdominal muscles and is often uncomfortable, leaving you with a crying child.

Spitting up is the easy flow of stomach contents out of the mouth, frequently with a burp. Spitting up doesn’t involve forceful muscle contractions, brings up only small amounts of milk, and doesn’t distress your baby or make them uncomfortable.

What causes vomiting?

Vomiting occurs when the abdominal muscles and diaphragm contract vigorously while the stomach is relaxed. This reflex action is triggered by the “vomiting center” in the brain after it has been stimulated by:

• Nerves from the stomach and intestine when the gastrointestinal tract is either irritated or swollen by an infection or blockage (as in the stomach bug)

• Chemicals in the blood such as drugs

• Psychological stimuli from disturbing sights or smells

• Stimuli from the middle ear (as in vomiting caused by motion sickness)

Always contact your pediatrician if your baby vomits forcefully after every feeding or if there is ever blood in your baby’s vomit.

Remember

The best way to reduce spit up is to feed your baby before they get very hungry. Gently burp your baby when they take breaks during feedings. Limit active play after meals and hold your baby in an upright position for at least 20 minutes. Always closely supervise your baby during this time.

More information

• 
  How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained
• 
  Gastroesophageal Reflux & Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Parent FAQs
• 
  How Much and How Often Should Your Baby Eat

Last Updated

10/5/2022

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (Copyright © 2022)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

Frequent vomiting in babies: normal or not

Every caring parent is attentive to the health of their child, so as not to miss the first symptoms of serious diseases. If the child is the first, the reactions of his body, in particular regurgitation, cause concern. Most often it occurs for a physiological reason.

There is a sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus. In children from birth to a year, it is underdeveloped and is not able to keep food in the stomach. Any careless movement leads to the fact that the contents of the stomach pour out through the esophagus, that is, the child burps. To avoid this, pediatricians recommend carrying the child in the “column” position for half an hour after eating. Even in this position, regurgitation is possible, since pressure on the chest and stomach of the child cannot be completely eliminated. There is nothing to worry about, but in some cases regurgitation indicates the presence of serious diseases.

What is normal

If the child spits up only a small part of the food, is active, feels good, there is no reason for concern. In the presence of temperature, capriciousness, lethargy, regurgitation can be one of the symptoms of the disease. For babies up to six months, the norm is spitting up small portions of food up to 6-8 times a day. The curdled consistency of regurgitation is not a cause for concern. This is milk curdled under the influence of a special enzyme contained in the gastric juice, and prepared for further digestion.

The so-called “fountain” regurgitation should alert parents and force them to closely monitor the baby’s condition. It is necessary to drink it with warm boiled water, for some time vilify vertically. If such regurgitation was a one-time occurrence, the crumbs do not have a temperature, you should not worry. If the situation recurs, you should consult a doctor.

Causes of regurgitation

Newborns do not realize how much food they need and often overeat. Parents misinterpret the crying of the baby, and begin to feed him on demand. The baby may not be hungry, but simply demand the attention of the mother, her warmth. Excess food is not retained in the stomach, and the child burps.

When breastfeeding, the baby sometimes does not grasp the nipple correctly, and swallows air along with milk. It will come out with a little milk. Another common cause of regurgitation is excess gas. Food moves to the intestines more slowly than necessary, and part of it is ejected through the esophagus.

Serious problems that are manifested by frequent regurgitation include congenital defects of the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, intestinal obstruction.

Troubleshooting

Most causes of spitting up are easy to fix, but the situation can be more serious. Some children suffer from lactose intolerance, which is genetically determined. The sooner this is detected and the necessary treatment is started, the better the child will develop. Lactose intolerance can be suspected if the baby spits up breast milk, and this problem is not observed when feeding with mixtures. Timely diagnosis of genetic lactose intolerance allows you to avoid a large number of child health problems in the future.

If parents are concerned about the frequent regurgitation of the baby, it is worth taking an analysis in one of the modern laboratories and consulting a doctor with its results. The modern level of laboratory diagnostics makes it possible to accurately determine the cause of the problem, and knowing it, the doctor will select the optimal treatment. No. 180035 Genetic lactose intolerance

Savchenko Svetlana Petrovna

Expert in the field of laboratory diagnostics, healthcare organization, diagnostics and treatment of therapeutic diseases.

Article publication date:
02/16/2018

Updated:
08/19/2022

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