Breastfeeding and Acid Reflux with Newborn

Oh, there are so many things that could cause this.
1) Do you have a lot of supply right now? Does your baby also cough while nursing? It could be that you have an over-supply issue or forceful letdown, which can cause these symptoms. (http://kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html)
2) Reflux can be aggrevated by food sensitivity. For my son, it was dairy - I cut out all milk, ice cream, cheese, even products that listed milk as an ingredient and he was much happier.
3) A rule of thumb for nursing a reflux baby is half as much, twice as often. Definitely keep her upright after eating. Also check out kellymom.com for reflux tips (http://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html).

Also, if I can give you a tip - a moby wrap is the best friend for a mom of a reflux baby, because it holds your baby vertically against your chest. My baby spent many hours napping in the moby wrap because that is how he was most comfortable (and I needed to get things done sometimes).

I breastfed 2 babies, one with severe reflux and dairy sensitivity and I had an oversupply/overactive letdown issue that aggravated it. And as you can tell, kellymom.com is my go-to website! Please feel free to PM if you have any questions about any or all of the above issues. I've been there. And I could post a lot more tips that worked for me, but I don't want to overwhelm you with things that might not apply to you right now.

Good luck

2 moms found this helpful

I found that my babies were sensitive to dairy (mostly just cow's milk not so much cheese or yogurt), and caffeine. Neither of my kids could tolerate either of those things in my diet. My daughter also had a problem when I ate grapes. I would try dairy and caffeine first if I were you! Made a world of difference for both of mine.

1 mom found this helpful

dairy is the number one culprit to cause acid reflux, or make it worse. other "bad" foods are acidic ones - grapefruit, tomatoes, lemons, etc.

try cutting out tomatoes and dairy first and then if that doesn't help you can move towards a more restrictive diet. also, can you have her sleep on an incline? that really helped my daughter (who still has reflux). the easiest way to do this is put several thick books under the feet of her crib -- either on the head side if she sleeps lengthwise, or on the back feet if she sleeps the opposite way. my daughter slept in a bouncy chair for all naps and that helped - it was naturally inclined and allowed her to sleep more comfortably.

feel free to pm me if you need additional ideas. i've been dealing with reflux for over four years with my daughter and feel like i've tried just about everything possible.

This likely has nothing to do with what you're eating, but the fact that her esophagus/stomach is not quite ready to deal with eating. This is very common in babies as they all develop at different rates. You can certainly try eliminating certain foods, many mom's find their babies happier when they eliminate dairy from their diet. But I have never heard of this stopping reflux, rather stopping fussiness.

Hang in there, I know this is tough on a Mama, but she's going to be great!

Best wishes!

The only thing that really helped with my twins' reflux was medication. I hated to put them on it, but it made such a difference almost immediately!

Do you eat spicy foods or hot sauce?Cutting these out may help.You can also contact our local bfing clinic & they can guide you further maybe it's not what your eating but how she is being held during her feedings,or getting too much milk at one sitting.I have not had my babies diagnosed with acid reflux but they did spit up to me alot some times it was projectile they were just getting so much milk at one time but I wasn't going to stop nursing them they told me when it was enough.Good job for breastfeeding

She will likely outgrow this. You can nurse her sitting up as much as possible - difficult with a newborn - but I'd feed her as often as she will nurse and keep her on one side for most of a feeding (or all) to get the rich, hind milk that comes later in a feeding. You can go to a La Leche League mtg or call a Leader. There are some Groups not far from you. www.llli.org will give you contact info. Good for you for breastfeeding! It will pay off big time for both of you!!

My LO one had this horribly. We found that keeping him elevated worked the best. He also slept in his carseat or swing for the first 8 months of his life. As far as food it didn't really matter what I ate nothing helped out. We did however give some mylanta and that seemed to help out.

As a precaution, stay away from spicy and acidic foods/beverages. Also, taking supplements such as enzymes (I take Ez-Gest) and good bacteria (acidophilus and bifidus I take Opti-Flora) will help your baby without side affects. A natural antacid helps as well (I have recommendations on this).

All of these will help your baby and there aren't side affects.

We need acids to digest our food. Taking the enzymes helps the food to digest and decrease (not remove) the acids. The acid reflux medicines have side affects and remove the acids, which isn't good.

If you're not against meds and know for sure that it's reflux, try Zantac. Our youngest had silent reflux. He wasn't a puker but was VERY irritable and difficult to console. I tried taking out obvious dairy but that didn't really work, he was actually more irritable throughout the day, not just late afternoon/evening. Went to the doc, did a trial of zantac (the nurse practioner actually suggested it based on symptoms, plus one of her kids had silent reflux). Med did the trick with a couple dose increases after he'd gain a couple pounds. Now at 6mo we can start letting him outgrow his dose per the doc. I still put him in the bouncy or keep him upright after he eats, but he's alot better. Good luck!

I would suggest you see a Lactation Consultant. It could be reflux, sensitivity to dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream etc. that you are eating), or overactive let-down. It's really hard to know which one, without having her seen. Contact the hospital where you gave birth. They can put you in touch with the LC. They might not charge for the visit since you gave birth there. Good luck and congratulations.

It is amazing to me that THESE days babies are diagnosed with reflux. 30+ years ago when I was having babies...there was no such thing. You might try these things. First, start your nursing BEFORE she is too hungry. Nursing franically can cause her to take in too much air causing BIG burps bringing alot of it back up. Burp her more frequently during nursing...sit her up, lean her forward and rub her back. It could have something to do with what you are eating. Stop all dairy, eggs and gassy veggies such as brocolli and onions. My mom always said if a baby is "spitting up" she is just overflowing...too much at one time. When you say she sounds like she is choking...she probably is...taking in to much at one time. Sometimes after your milk comes in, it comes like a fountain and baby gets inundated with more than can be handled in a swallow. Another thing to check woud be your nursing position...you two belly-button to belly-button and her face up and down not sideways. I hope this helps. Congrats on your new little sweetie!