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Baby has hiccups

“A baby with hiccups benefits”. It may be true. In any case, the hiccups are banal, not painful and without consequences.

During pregnancy and from birth, babies often hiccup. We talk about this natural phenomenon and we give you tips to relieve his episodes of hiccups.

What is fetal hiccups?

What is called fetal hiccups is easily recognizable: the baby's movements, or more precisely the jolts, are regular and rhythmic. When baby moves, the movements are on the contrary more jerky. It is generally from the 6th month of pregnancy that you will observe this phenomenon, which will last until delivery and which can very well take place several times a day.

What is baby hiccups?

Hiccups are caused by the air the baby swallows during a feed. It is due to spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm, in response to sudden gastric distension induced by excess air, for example.

Why do babies have so many hiccups?

Extremely common in newborns, hiccups are probably related to an immaturity of the diaphragm.
It calms down spontaneously, generally after a few weeks (often during the 2nd month).

The fetus: The fetal diaphragm is exercising for its future role, regulating breathing, but since it is still immature, these exercises cause intermittent and involuntary contractions. The baby, who is beginning to want to breathe, has swallowed amniotic fluid. Finally, all these signs show that baby is developing and doing well! So nothing to worry about.

Baby: Babies give an average of 4 to 60 hiccups per minute. Impressive but above all very useful because "The hiccups help to release the trapped air in the stomach, which allows the baby to drink more milk".

How do I stop baby hiccups?

As hiccups are painless and can provide benefits to baby, there is usually no cause for alarm. The hiccups should go away on their own.

The Fetus: you can try to start walking if you were stationary; to change position often; to lie down and pat your belly or stroke it clockwise; to increase the volume of the music at once; to have a cold drink. In short, by stimulating it or surprising it, you may be able to stop this hiccup.

Baby: On the other hand, it can happen that the hiccups continue until your baby is irritated and does not understand what is happening.

Here are some tips to help you get over baby's hiccups: take baby in your arms and rock him gently, patting his back to help him pass air; put the baby back to the breast or give him water; after meals, carry baby with you in a seated position for at least 20 minutes to reduce the risk of developing hiccups; during meals burp baby every 2-3 minutes. Ask your pharmacist or doctor if homeopathic remedies to relieve hiccups could be beneficial for your baby.

Hiccups are mostly harmless, if your baby has hiccups very often or if an attack persists for more than 48 hours, it is advisable to see a doctor. Hiccups are sometimes caused by an infection, a malformation of the diaphragm or a pathology.

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