Projectile vomiting in newborns: causes and remedies
Projectile vomiting is a common problem for many newborns in the first months of life.
The baby may vomit either immediately after feeding or later, manifesting digestive difficulties and pain attributable to gastroesophageal reflux in newborns .
Unfortunately, even though the child vomits profusely , has difficulty digesting and cries , most of the time parents are told that the reflux is physiological and will pass with time .
The truth is quite different: it is NOT normal for your baby to vomit, cry and feel sick because he has a stomach ache, digestive or gastrointestinal problems.
Projectile vomiting and gastroesophageal reflux in newborns, as well as gas colic , are caused by an irritant and inflammatory condition of the stomach (and the gastrointestinal system) that can be PREVENTED (from pregnancy or the first days of life) and/or CURED.
In this article I will explain the real causes of projectile vomiting and how to improve it until it is completely resolved .
Before starting, I'll leave you some useful information:
- If you would like to schedule a studio visit with me, you can find me here.
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- In this course you will find a practical guide on how to solve regurgitation and reflux in newborns.
What is projectile vomiting?
Projectile vomiting in newborns is the expulsion of a significant amount of milk by the baby immediately after eating or at a later time.
It can also be associated with other problems related to gastrointestinal disorders ; therefore, it can occur together with crying and irritability on the part of the child.
Always keep in mind that projectile vomiting can also be a warning sign of more serious pathologies , as we will see later.
How to recognize it?
How to understand if the newborn is projectile vomiting?
How to distinguish projectile vomiting from regurgitation?
If the newborn vomits in a projectile way, does he suffer from reflux?
Let's look at the main characteristics of these other disorders together to understand the differences.
Vomiting and Gastroesophageal Reflux in Newborns
The term neonatal gastroesophageal reflux indicates the reflux of food from the stomach into the esophagus.
Since the newborn's nourishment is milk, the term gastroesophageal reflux indicates the rising of milk from the stomach towards the esophagus with or without regurgitation and vomiting .
The child who vomits objectively suffers from reflux , as the milk has risen from the stomach towards the esophagus and mouth.
The newborn who suffers from reflux and vomits projectiles has an irritative and inflammatory condition at the gastric (and intestinal) level: this is why he manifests digestive difficulties both during and after feeding, discomfort and pain , cries often, burps even after feeding, often regurgitates and/or vomits projectiles, etc.
We will go into more detail about this topic later in the blog post.
Vomiting or Regurgitation
It is usually called spitting up when the newborn vomits small or moderate amounts of milk .
Infant spitting up can occur immediately after feeding or hours later .
Spitting up can be more or less frequent during the day, even occurring several times between one feeding and the next .
Spitting up is what is called vomiting and comes out of the baby's mouth after feeding or burping. Now the picture is clearer, isn't it?
Spitting up does not cause a slowdown in the baby's growth , but it may be associated with crying and marked irritability.
The term Vomiting or Projectile Vomiting refers to a child who regurgitates large quantities of milk .
When vomit comes out suddenly from the child's mouth, it is called projectile vomiting.
Vomiting can occur immediately after feeding or hours after it.
It may occur just once a day or several times between feedings.
If the newborn is projectile vomiting, it is important to make sure that it is growing and is not a symptom of a serious anatomical pathology (we will go into this topic in more detail later).
Vomiting is often associated with reflux , stomach pain, digestive difficulties, crying, frequent burping and hiccups in newborns.
Projectile vomiting is also an expression of gastric irritation and inflammation that can be prevented, improved or completely resolved.