Bloated babies are often considered normal and harmless. However, in some cases, this condition can be a symptom of a more serious disease. Parents are expected to be able to recognize the causes of bloated babies, as well as the symptoms to watch out for.
Generally, bloated babies can be recognized by their symptoms, such as a hard palpable stomach, frequent burping, farting, and difficulty defecating. In addition, he also seemed to cry and fuss more often. Parents need to find out the cause of the occurrence of bloated babies, in order to be able to prevent and help overcome them.
Various Causes of Bloated Babies
Babies often experience flatulence at the age of 0-3 months and 6-12 months. At the age of 0-3 months, babies often experience flatulence because their digestive tract is still not working perfectly.
Whereas in infants aged 6 months and over, flatulence occurs because the baby's digestive tract needs to adapt again to digest types of complementary foods for breast milk (MPASI).
In addition, there are several things that can also cause a bloated baby, including:
- Eat and drink while playing
It's actually normal when you eat or drink, a little air is swallowed. However, when a baby is fed or watered while playing, he will tend to swallow faster, so that more air can be swallowed into the stomach. Besides making it easier to bloat, this habit also increases the risk of the baby choking.
- Drink lessBabies who drink less are at risk of constipation. This condition is often accompanied by complaints of abdominal pain and bloating. Therefore, make sure the amount of breast milk given is sufficient. You can also add mineral water for babies who are over 6 months old. However, babies under 6 months should not be given water or other drinks other than breast milk or formula.
- Eating broccoli, beans, and cabbage
It's actually a good thing if your baby wants to eat vegetables. However, you should avoid giving too much of these three types of vegetables to babies, because they can cause bloating. Try varying it with other types of food.
- Eating high-fat or high-fiber foodsSome babies may have digestion that is very sensitive to certain types of food. For example, fatty foods such as fried foods, or foods high in fiber such as cereals.
- Crying too longIt is normal for babies to cry. But if he cries too long, a lot of air will enter through his mouth into his digestive tract. This will cause the baby to bloat.
Bloated babies can also be caused by lactose intolerance, which is the inability to digest the protein in cow's milk. If so, you need to consult a pediatrician, to get a milk replacement that suits his needs.
How to deal with bloated babies
No need to worry too much when your baby is bloated. There are several easy ways that you can try to deal with bloated babies, including:
- Elevate baby's body when he suckles or eats. If you have to eat lying down, keep your head higher than your stomach.
- If you are breastfeeding directly from the breast, make sure the mouth is perfectly attached to your breast.
- If your baby is bottle feeding, use a bottle that can prevent air bubbles from forming.
- When breastfeeding, always tilt the bottle so that there is no air near the bottle cap.
- To prevent swallowing a lot of air while eating, try to breastfeed or feed the baby in a calm setting.
- Massaging the baby's tummy or gently rubbing his back can help the wind out of the baby's tummy.
- After feeding or feeding, hold the baby in an upright position and gently pat his back, to help expel air from his digestive tract.
Although generally harmless, but immediately consult a doctor if the above methods do not work to reduce the bloating he is experiencing. Especially if the baby's stomach is bloated with other symptoms, such as fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.