Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Submitted Question · 02/22/09, 8:40am

My baby spits up every time she eats should I worry?

WombToBloom · 02/23/09, 8:08am

Babies spit up a lot and it is not uncommon for babies to spit up after every feeding. If the feeding causes what we call projectile vomiting and the baby isn’t gaining any weight, the baby could have pyloric stenosis or a blockage of the exit point of the stomach, called the pylorus.

This needs surgery and will not gain weight until the surgery is done. After that, the baby does fine. If the baby just spits up a bit with every feeding, it could have esophageal reflux disease or GERD. This is when the baby has a poor valve between the stomach and the esophagus. When its stomach is full, some of the formula comes back up.

The way to treat this is to keep the baby upright as much as possible after a feeding. I f that doesn’t work, you can ask your doctor to prescribe drugs like Zantac and Reglan for the baby. This keeps food moving through and prevents acid from coming up into the esophagus. If you suspect the baby has one of the above conditions, see your doctor to have testing done and possibly to have surgery or other treatment.

noel0077 · 01/11/12, 12:25pm

No need to worry about that if you baby is spiting after feeding because its common in this age of babies and if your baby is spiting a lot means more then you are expecting from him or her then do concerned with your doctor about that.

saimalexander · 01/12/12, 7:08am

Babies spit up when they've eaten too much or when they've swallowed too much air while feeding. Spitting up usually happens when babies burp. It can also happen when your baby is drooling. Spitting up is not vomiting. Babies usually don't notice when they spit up. Vomiting is forceful and painful. Spitting up is common for most babies until about the time they can eat solid foods (usually around 6 months to 1 year of age).

The medical term for "spitting up" is gastroesophageal reflux, or reflux. It happens when milk or solid food in the stomach comes back up into your baby's esophagus (the esophagus is the tube that joins the mouth and the stomach).