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Baby Vomiting: What's Normal And What's Not

As a mother, it is a matter of utmost priority for you to ensure that your baby gets the very best. Any form of physical discomfort that your baby goes through is a pain to you and you take every possible action on your part to keep him or her away from it. This is what maternal instincts are all about. Now, one very common condition that babies have to go through is that of vomiting. Very often, we see that newborn babies tend to vomit.

Often, this condition extends to weeks and months. Since vomiting is a pretty unpleasant condition for an adult, we assume the same for a child as well and go about worrying about the same.

baby vomiting yellow

However, the fact is that vomiting is a much lesser unpleasant experience for a child than it is for people like you and me. In most cases, your child's vomiting should not worry you. In some situations, however, the vomiting actually signifies something else. This article tells you all that you need to know about your child's vomiting.

  • Why Does A Baby Vomit?
  • What Is Normal?
  • What's NOT Normal?

• Why Does A Baby Vomit?

Like a lot of other things, vomiting is one of the body's natural reflexes. This is true in the case of a baby as well. When a baby's stomach is full, the digestive acids along with the food can move back up his food pipe and cause him to vomit.

The baby might also have hiccups, which might lead him to vomit. There may also be a host of other reasons for a child to throw up. While some of them may be a cause of health concern, most of them are absolutely harmless.

• What Is Normal?

As stated earlier, for babies, vomiting is a natural reflux action and almost all babies have this. This may be as a result of some allergy or because of a host of other reasons. While some of the reasons may be a cause of worry, most of them are signs of a perfectly healthy child.

The below-mentioned times are when vomiting by your child is not something that you should be alarmed of.

• Adjusting to feeding

It is important to realize that a child is not born with the knowledge of things (including the art of feeding). Hence, it is obvious that it may take him or her a couple of weeks to allow the body to get comfortable to the same. At such stages, you can tell that your baby is vomiting and not just possetting, because in the former case, the volume of milk coming up will be much higher.

Understand that there is nothing to be alarmed about this type of vomiting. In some cases, it is seen that small babies are frightened by the idea of vomiting and this may cause them to cry while vomiting. You must understand that it is a normal occurrence and will stop happening in a month's time.

• Car sickness

For normal adults, it takes curvy roads with bad roads conditions to trigger motion sickness. However, in the case of a child, it takes much lesser. You may find that your child is prone to vomiting while travelling. There is nothing to be alarmed of this condition as most people tend to get rid of this with age.

• Prolonged crying

If you think that your child's crying is taxing only for you, you may be in for a surprise. Prolonged bouts of crying or coughing, accompanied by vomiting put a lot of stress on the child's body and crying is the body's means of letting it all out.

However, there is nothing much to be worried about here. In most cases, it is seen that the crying subsides within six hours of starting. Thus, it does not cause any long-term damage to your little one.

• What's NOT Normal?

• Food allergy

This is a condition that is more commonly seen in babies who have started consuming normal food. It may so happen that they are allergic to a particular type of food. In such a situation, one of the most forms of allergic reactions is vomiting.

If you have identified the agent that is triggering the allergies, consult your doctor before removing the item from your child's diet. Even if you are unable to identify the exact agent, make sure that you notify your doctor about the symptoms.

• Blood or bile in the vomit

Once or twice having a few drops of these in the vomit is not really dangerous. However, if your baby continues to throw up blood or if the quantity of blood is increasing, make sure that you notify your doctor as this may signify a grave condition.

Green bile in the vomit of a baby is an indication that his or her intestines are blocked. If this condition is not dealt with at the earliest, it may even prove to be fatal.

• Dehydration

Vomiting is one of the first signs of dehydration in a baby. If you find that the vomiting is accompanied by other conditions like lack of tears, floppiness and a dry mouth, this may be because your child is dehydrated.

Another common symptom of this condition is when your child wets less than 6 nappies in a day. Dehydration in babies can be pretty serious and may even prove fatal. Thus, if you notice these symptoms, make sure that you notify your pediatrician about the same.

Now that you are armed with all the knowledge that you need in this regard, you are in a position to take better care of your little one and take him or her towards a healthier life.

Story first published: Thursday, August 16, 2018, 17:51 [IST]
Read more about: baby