We received a message this weekend from Nikita in India, who is concerned about her baby’s hiccups. Nikita told us that her little girl is 4 1/2 months old and often has hiccups after eating. She wondered if we knew how to prevent them… and how to get rid of them once they’ve started!
We wish we had the magic answer to getting rid of hiccups in a baby (our youngest had them ALL the time and they sounded SO uncomfortable). But hiccups are very common in infants and there’s no surefire way of stopping them… although there are a few things that may help!
When your baby’s tummy is full with all that lovely homemade baby food (or milk), his stomach pushes against his diaphragm, sometimes causing it to go into little contractions. These contractions result in hiccups. This is most common in very young babies, because their tummies are large in comparison with their overall body size. As they grow, hiccups become far less common.
For babies who haven’t started solids yet, hiccups may also be caused by gulping down air during milk feeds, in which case it’s a good idea to check that your baby is latching on correctly (if breastfeeding), or – for bottle-fed babies – the angle of the bottle is correct. Also, burping your baby thoroughly can help.
Often, baby hiccups can be stopped by offering a little drink or a top-up breastfeed. One remedy that we hear being recommended all the time is to give baby a spoonful of sugar – however, we don’t think this is such a great idea at all and would honestly rather wait those pesky hiccups out than fill our little one’s mouth with sugar!
Distraction is another popular remedy (and far better for your baby’s teeth!) and we just LOVE the technique often used in the Caribbean. There, parents will remove a piece of string from their clothing, lick it and stick it to the baby’s head. In some countries, parents do the same thing, but insist that the string has to be red. Sadly, this has never worked for us, but the reasoning behind it is probably that your baby will try to look up at the string – thereby distracting him and helping him forget he has hiccups!
An alternative form of distraction is to gently blow on baby’s face. This seems to surprise them (like saying ‘Boo!’ to an adult) and just may do the trick!
Hiccups are almost always harmless – but very, very occasionally they can be a symptom of another problem and may even indicate reflux. And if your baby DOES have reflux, frequent hiccups may make his symptoms worse. So remember – if your baby’s hiccups are giving you cause for concern, do seek advice from your doctor.
How do YOU stop your baby’s hiccups? Do you use a special technique in your corner of the world that other Mums may find useful? Please share your tips!
Christine
Saturday 1st of April 2017
I agree - and, just to reiterate, if you DO choose to offer honey, do not do so unless your baby is AT LEAST one year of age. This is because honey may contain botulism spores which are extremely hazardous to babies under 12 months of age.
Veena
Saturday 1st of April 2017
Hi, I have heard that honey helps get rid of babies hiccups although i never tried it till my baby was 1 year old. The best i feel is to breastfeed the baby & the hiccups would disappear.
Stair Gates|
Wednesday 29th of March 2017
You shouldn't do anything for the babies hiccups unless they have them for hours at a time everyday and then you shouldn't do anything but bring them to your family doctor. Every doctor is going to say the same thing that it's very normal for babies to hiccup and like the article said it will not harm your baby. Don't give your baby sugar or any kind of medicine, it will all work out. One of my babies hiccuped everyday for months and now she's 6 years old and always has been a healthy little girl.