What is reflux?
Reflux occurs when food is brought back up from the baby’s tummy, resulting in acid travelling up the oesophagus. This means that baby will inevitably be sick quite a lot (referred to as ‘active reflux’), or in some cases will experience pain and discomfort during a reflux episode. Babies who are not excessively sick are sometimes harder to diagnose, and this is often referred to as ‘silent reflux’.
After many years working with babies, it became a passion of mine to read the signs and to very quickly pick up when babies were showing the signs.
- Spitting up and vomiting associated with pain
- Difficulty being soothed/constant crying
- Becoming fussy following feedings
- Outright stretching and arching backwards away from the nipple or bottle
- Refusing Feeds
- Constant frantic feeding
- Frequent coughing or congestion in the absence of illness
- Wheezing or trouble breathing
- Irritability during feedings
- Poor weight gain
- Difficult and disrupted sleep
Most infants grow out of reflux without an issue and its generally unusual for babies over the age of 18 months to continue to suffer. That said, it does happen and for some unlucky babies reflux never really disappears.
Very rarely, reflux can be indicative of other digestive issues. Always speak to your doctor if you are concerned, and follow relevant medical advice.
From my years of experience working with infants with reflux, I can help pick up and diagnose infants with reflux and guide the parents on getting the help that they need. I can also teach parents the tools to make progress on sleep skills AFTER reflux pain is well controlled.
It is very important to treat the pain of reflux and ensure adequate caloric intake before beginning any sleep training program.
Once your baby’s reflux is being treated, I can help you sleep and routine train with confidence.
