The first few months of life are full of new experiences and adjustments for your baby.   Her digestive system is just getting used to breast milk or formula, and painful gas bubbles often form insider her abdomen. Painful baby gas is common, affecting about half of all babies in the first months.  This gas can make babies miserable, and their parents are often desperate to relieve their infant.

 

Baby gas can be caused by the mother’s diet, if she is breastfeeding, or by ingesting air during bottle feedings.   Breastfeeding women can reduce the chances of their baby having gas by avoiding certain foods like broccoli, avocado, dairy, coffee, garlic and onions during the first few months.  For babies who are bottle-fed, it is important to use the proper size of bottle nipple in order to reduce the amount of gas-causing air that the baby ingests.  

 

To prevent gas, it is important to burp your baby often during feedings.  Bottle-fed babies should be burped every few minutes during a feeding, while breastfeed infants can be burped less frequently.  For both, it is important to do one final burp at the end of the feeding, to prevent gas build-up in the baby’s stomach.   Finally, avoid active play in the 20 minutes following a feeding, since the baby’s stomach will be full and too much movement can increase gas.

Gas bubbles in the abdomen causes painful bloating in babies.  To help release the gas, apply light pressure to the baby’s abdomen or gently move her legs.   Baby massage is also an excellent way to release baby gas with gentle, calming pressure and movements.  It also relaxes the baby and creates a bond between the infant and the parents.

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