If your infant vomits frequently or has recurring heartburn, gas, or abdominal pain, this may not be typical childhood digestion — your infant could be suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which the stomach’s contents back up into the esophagus. GERD is more frequent in infants and children than many people realize. More than half of babies experience recurring reflux in their first three months. It may be more common in infants because of the short distance from the stomach to the mouth and because of a weaker esophageal sphincter than that in adults.
Since infants can not tell parents about their symptoms, you should look for some of the many symptoms of GERD in infants, including:
spitting
coughing
irritability
feeding problems (such as aversion to certain foods, gagging, choking, or swallowing problems)
poor growth
recurrent wheezing, pneumonia, or other respiratory problems
colic
excessive drooling
bad breath
chronic ear or sinus infections
recurrent sore throat or hoarse voiceThese symptoms may also be caused by other conditions, so you should have a doctor diagnose the cause of the problems. Your pediatrician may recommend tests such as an upper gastrointestinal series, esophageal pH monitoring, and esophagoscopy with biopsy (a procedure which uses a camera to observe the esophagus and then takes a sample of the tissue to analyze it).
The symptoms of GERD can be reduced by many techniques, including:
elevating your baby’s head or keeping your baby upright for 30 minutes after feeding
changing your baby’s formula (or your diet, if you are breastfeeding)
not overfeeding your infant
burping your baby after 1-2 ounces of formula or after each side if you are breastfeeding
laying your infant on his or her back for sleepingIf these changes don’t help your child, medication may be helpful for infants suffering from GERD. Your doctor may recommend an H2 blocker such as Zantac or proton pump inhibitor like Prilosec in a dose recommended and formulated specifically for infants. These are appropriate for infants with recurring vomiting and irritability. Antacids are not recommended for infants because the aluminum can cause side effects.
Surgery is rarely necessary. If your baby has life-threatening respiratory problems resulting from GERD, surgery may be warranted. However, more than 95% of babies will outgrow GERD in infancy as their esophageal sphincters grow stronger. Despite this, GERD can also occur in older children.
