Gas in babies

What is gas in babies?

Gas is simply the air in your baby's tummy. Your baby can swallow a lot of air along with her milk when she feeds.

She may also gulp air down when she cries, and even as she’s breathing. It can make her feel full before she’s had enough milk. It can also make her feel very uncomfortable.

Sometimes, excessive air occurs if the milk or food your baby has isn't being digested well. The bacteria which are normally present in the intestines may ferment the milk or food which causes more gas to be produced. Children who have this problem may appear ill and not gain weight appropriately.

Also, some babies have a lot of gas and need burping after every feed. Other babies hardly ever have gas.

How do I know when my baby has a gassy tummy?

If your baby has gas, she may resist going on your other breast or stop sucking on her bottle and cry. She may squirm and grimace, particularly if you try to lay her down after a feed.

Babies with gas pain also tend to pull up their legs and then stretch out, arching their back. These symptoms could also be signs of colic or reflux.

Gas pain is common in babies in the first three months of life while their intestines are maturing. It's also common between ages six and 12 months, when they're trying lots of different foods for the first time.

Do breastfed babies get gas?

Breastfed babies tend to get fewer problems with gas than bottle-fed babies. This is because they can control the flow of milk better so suck at a slower pace, swallowing less air with the milk.

Breastfed babies are also more likely to have smaller and more frequent feeds, and be fed in an upright position, which can reduce gas. However, breastfed babies will still need to be burped often, especially if they are fast feeders, or if your milk flows particularly quickly.

Gas pain in a breastfed baby may be caused by intolerance to a protein in your diet. Identifying and eliminating the offending food may help. Dairy products in a breastfeeding mum's diet are a common culprit.

Some vegetables and foods such as cauliflower (gobhi), cabbage (patta gobhi), broccoli (hari gobhi), kidney beans (rajma) or chickpeas (chhola) are said to cause gas and crying. However, the evidence for this is weak.

Don't severely limit your diet on the hunch that your baby might have a food sensitivity, but if you suspect that a particular food is giving your baby trouble, you could try eliminating it for a week to see what happens. Learn more about breastfeeding and your diet.

How can I help my bottle-fed baby to avoid gas?

The flow of milk from a bottle can make babies take in gulps of air between swallows. You can help reduce gas by giving your baby her bottle while keeping her as upright as possible. Also, make sure that the bottle is tilted enough for the milk to completely cover the teat hole.

The hole in the nipple shouldn't be too small or too large. A too-small hole will tend to frustrate your baby and make her gulp for more milk. And a too-large hole causes the liquid to flow too quickly.

Some bottles are specially designed to reduce air intake and will say so on the packaging. Some are curved, while others have internal vents or liners to prevent air bubbles from forming in the liquid and keep the nipple from collapsing.

Sometimes a baby may have an intolerance to the protein in her formula. If that's the case, your baby's doctor will and recommend a suitable alternative.

How do I burp my baby?

If your baby is sucking happily, don't stop her feeding to burp her. She will probably cry and swallow more air as a result. Make the most of any natural breaks in a feed to burp your baby. You can do this when your baby lets go of the teat of the bottle or has a breast change-over. Burp her again when she’s finished feeding.

Patting or rubbing your baby's back is the most effective way to get her to bring up trapped gas. But remember, she may bring up some of her feed with it. Always have a cloth or muslin square handy to protect your clothes.

There are three positions that are good for burping a baby. Try all of them, as you may find one works better than another.

• on your chest
• sitting up
• face down across your lap

To know more about each position, take a look at our video on how to burp your baby!

Why does my baby have trouble burping?

It may be that your baby's immature digestive system is allowing air to travel further into her tummy, making it harder to come out. You may have to try some good back patting and changing positions before she will give a resounding burp.

For some babies, hiccupping seems to be the only way to get rid of gas.

If your baby hasn’t burped after a couple of minutes, it probably means she doesn't need to. But if she seems uncomfortable, keep trying.

Most babies outgrow the need to be burped. As they get bigger, and become more mobile, they can move around to find a comfortable position for themselves.

Are there any medicines that can help with gas?

If your baby seems to have a severe case of gas, your doctor may suggest medication. It might be the same as the medicine prescribed to treat colic.

Your doctor may suggest an anti-gas medicine that contains simethicone that helps break the big gas bubbles into smaller ones. This helps your baby to pass the gas easily. Don’t give these medicines without checking with your doctor, though.

Gripe water is an old-fashioned remedy containing herbs and sodium bicarbonate. The herbs are said to warm the baby's tummy and break down air bubbles while sodium bicarbonate neutralises acid. Gripe water used to contain alcohol. Some experts believed that it was the sedative effect of the alcohol that made gripe water work. Alcohol is no longer an ingredient. There’s no evidence that gripe water works, but many parents swear by it.

You may have heard that herbal preparations like janam ghutti are helpful as well. But do talk to your doctor before you give your baby gripe water or any other herbal or ayurvedic preparation.

Some babies have acid reflux that causes discomfort and makes them cry and swallow air. Your doctor will check your baby and then decide if any additional medicine is needed.

What else can I do to prevent and ease my baby's gas pain?

Here are a few things you could try to help your baby's gassy tummy.

Keep your baby upright for feedings
You might try holding your baby more upright during feedings to help the breastmilk or formula travel more smoothly to her tummy. If she's curled up or hunched over, air is more likely to get trapped in there with her food.

Avoid frantic feedings
Feed your baby before she's starving. If she's crying from hunger, she's more likely to gulp air along with her feed. Try to feed her in a calm environment.

Do the baby bicycle
Put your baby on her back, hold her feet, and gently move her legs in a bicycling motion several times a day. Nappy or diaper changes are a good time to try this. For some babies, this motion relieves gas and other tummy discomforts.

Massage your baby's belly
In addition to helping your baby relax, a gentle belly rub might help pass gas or at least help her tummy feel better. You could also try placing your baby across your knees, tummy down, and rubbing her back. This sometimes helps release excess pressure.

Watch this short video to learn a massage technique which may help to relieve your baby's gas.

Monitor how your baby adjusts to solids
When your baby moves to solid foods at six months, see how she adjusts to eating new foods. Like adults, babies can be extra gassy after eating certain vegetables, such as cauliflower (phool gobhi), cabbage (patta gobhi) and broccoli (hari gobhi). If your child eats these healthy foods, that's a good thing. Just make sure you don't overload her with too many gas-inducing veggies at consecutive meals.

Once you start to give your baby solids, water is always the best choice as an extra drink alongside your baby's usual milk. Drinking water won't eliminate gas problems, but it will improve constipation or any difficulty she has passing stools. Constipation often coincides with gas and abdominal discomfort.

Babies are likely to have a difficult time digesting the fructose and sucrose in juice, and as a result, it can bring on gas, or even diarrhoea. Juice can also harm your baby's emerging teeth and encourage a fondness for sweet drinks.

Keep in mind that doctors recommend not giving fruit juice to your baby until she is at least two years old. Offer fresh, seasonal fruit instead, in the form of purées or finger foods rather than as juice.

When is my baby's gas pain serious?

If you find yourself treating your child several times a day for more than three consecutive days, or if her gas coincides with such other symptoms as vomiting, diarrhoea, or fever, call your doctor right away.

Your child might have a more serious condition, like a stomach flu (gastroenteritis) or persistent reflux (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, or GORD) or a food allergy.

Also, let your doctor know if your baby has poor growth and weight gain or if she's reaching her milestones later than expected.

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