Tips to help parents avoid gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Have you ever had to wake up in the middle of the night to soothe your baby when he constantly cries due to poor feeding and vomiting? These are the most common symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children (GERD).

GERD occurs when food and milk overflow in the esophagus and sometimes vomit. There is a muscle in the area between the stomach and esophagus that normally closes to hold milk and food in the stomach before it reaches the small intestine.

When infected, this muscle opens and closes at inappropriate times, causing stomach acids to return to the esophagus, causing inflammation and pain. You will be very worried when your child is in pain and doesn't know how to relieve it. The article below has some tips to help children avoid  gastroesophageal reflux disease .

1. Let your baby raise his / her head

After you feed your baby, raise your baby's head up for at least 30 minutes. This will create gravity that pulls the food and milk down to the stomach, so the baby won't get GERD. Avoid lying flat on the bed because this position causes the contents of the stomach back up the esophagus. Another tip is to change diapers before feeding. The reason for this is to avoid placing your baby upright and lifting his legs upside down during diaper changes, making it easier for him to vomit.

2. Do not breastfeed or eat too much

Knowing when your baby is getting enough milk is often difficult, so if your baby is prone to vomiting more than once, then you should not feed more because this is a sign that there is too much food or milk in the stomach. You should wait until the next breast-feeding and let your baby continue to feed.

Instead of continuing to feed your baby, you can calm your baby from crying by feeding your baby's finger. This will give your baby's stomach time to digest the food.

3. Avoid rocking your baby

This may be a very exciting game for your child, but you should not do it right after your baby is finished eating. Remember that foods or milk are being digested in the stomach so they can completely bounce back when the baby is swayed too hard and cause a lot of discomfort for the baby. You should also remind your family and friends of this when they visit.

4. Avoid tight clothing

Tight clothes usually look lovely, but you should avoid letting your baby wear them while eating. If your child already has GERD, it's best to wear loose clothing. Tightly-wrapped clothing, such as t-shirts, will keep the stomach from digesting all the milk and food.

5. The baby burps often

You can reduce and prevent GERD in your baby by burping often. You should help your baby burp every 30 to 60 ml of food or after feeding on one breast. There are many different ways to burp your baby. Here are three common methods you can use:

Sit upright and hold your baby against your chest. Place your baby's chin on your shoulder and pat her back with your hand. You can rock your baby gently

Keep baby sitting on your lap. Use one hand to support baby's chest and head, place baby's chin on yours and then use other hand to pat baby's back

Put the baby on his stomach on the friend. Keep the baby's head higher than his chest, then gently pat the baby's back.

GERD can cause poor appetite and discomfort. Your baby may not be able to tell you how upset he is, but you can watch his actions and guess what it is. Always watch for and monitor the signs of GERD in your baby to help your baby get rid of the pain caused by GERD if any.