Newborn Q&A | Questions about newborns

My baby is vomiting up all his milk. Surely this is not normal?

A little bit of milk is quite normal but excessive vomiting might be due to reflux. It’s quite common and means that the valve between the stomach and the oesophagus is underdeveloped. The good news is that it will strengthen with age; most babies outgrow this by the age of one, some earlier.

In the meantime it’s causing extreme discomfort. It’s also possible for a baby not to show any visible signs of vomiting but are suffering discomfort. There is nothing to worry about as long as your baby is gaining weight.

These handy tips will certainly help but not cure the reflux:

• Keep baby upright for about 15 minutes after a feed
• Limit handling after a feed
• Lift the top half of her cot so that she sleeps on a slightly raised platform. It’s a good idea to place a rolled-up towel or blanket at the bottom so that she doesn’t slide down under the blankets.
• Change her formula to an anti-reflux formula or speak to your clinic sister about thickening the milk.