Warning Signs Of Colic Or Gastrocolic Reflux In Infants
If you watch a nursing baby long enough you will see when it happens: they are sucking their little heads off when suddenly they will pull away from the bottle or the breast, take a deep breath and make that unique, squishy “uh-oh” face then passes gas or a stool. This is the gastro-colic reflex in action.
This is the natural in-born reflex in a baby that occurs while eating. Eating meals, especially ones high in fatty content like with breast milk, stimulates the digestive tract and sends the infant’s body a signal to pass a “load” on through. The bigger the meal the more stimulate and the stronger the internal contractions.
But some baby’s are very sensitive to stimuli and as a result have very active gastro-colic reflexes. This can cause related problems like colic, gastro reflux (stomach acids and liquids traveling backwards into the esophagus and throat) and other intestinal upsets.
The urge to poo after eating as we all know can be either fairly mild or right urgent depending on the type of meal we consume. And newborn babies are no different. Different formulas can cause babies to have either a trigger-happy gastro-colic reflex; resulting in changing diapers an unusual number of times a day.
While a “lazy” gastro-colic reflex in an infant, can panic parents in the other direction when baby hasn’t “performed” in several days. The warning signs below will help evaluate
Babies who Poop Frequently.
Babies within the first few weeks have lots of stools. As many as 8-10 times per day for breast-fed infants but less when they are formula-fed. As mentioned before, breast milk has lots of fatty content and some infants that have a quick, gastro-colic reflex and will normally pass gas or poo every time they nurse and especially while enjoying a big feed.
Babies who Poop Infrequently.
Some babies, especially when on formulas, some times only poo a few times during the day. As long as the stool that is passed has a consistent color, odor and no signs of blood or infection then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. As the baby ages, it is natural for the digestive tract to settle down and for an infant 8 weeks or older to only have a stool once a day.
Babies who Cry Excessively
This may be a sign of colic. Often babies who have slow gastro-colic systems may develop colic from swallowing too much air or experiencing trapped gas from poorly digested milk or formulas. Colic, gastro reflux and other intestinal problems can be solved by changing formulas to ones that are more easily digested.
Babies who Vomit Frequently
All babies are prone to vomiting but infants who vomit immediately after eating may have gastro-colic reflux or colic gastro reflux also called infant acid reflux. Colic gastro reflux occurs when liquids and food travels backwards up the baby’s esophagus, irritating the throat and sometimes the lungs (if the acidy liquid is aspirated). Other signs may include a persistent cough and problems swallowing.
Look at the above warning symptoms and compare them to the behavior of your baby and then visit your health care professional to get the right gastro-colic treatment for your newborn.
