Why does the child hiccup?

With the hiccup, the child encounters the absolute majority of young parents. Although this phenomenon is most often completely normal and innocuous, some moms and dads are beginning to worry about the health of their child. In this article we will tell you why the child often hiccups, and what to do to reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.

Why do small children hiccup?

Most often, moms and dads notice such a phenomenon as hiccups, in their newborn baby, who was not yet 2 months old. This is absolutely not surprising, because the body of a little man is only adapting to the new conditions of life, and his nervous and digestive systems are not fully formed.

In most cases, young parents are interested in the question of why their newborn baby hiccups after eating or even during it. Usually this is due to excessive ingestion of air, which begins to press on the diaphragm. This, in turn, happens when the baby is not correctly grasping the nipple, too much greed and quickly absorbs the mother's milk, or gets the milk mixture from the bottle with an excessively large opening.

It is this reason that explains why an infant hiccup after each feeding and subsequent regurgitation. To avoid this, after eating a baby it is necessary to hold for a while vertically, waiting until the excess air comes out with a belch.

Hiccups during eating may also appear in older children. As a rule, this is due to a significant overeating, prolonged abstinence or eating "dry". In most cases, such hiccups pass after the child drinks a small amount of water.

Another reason why a newborn baby hiccups can be laughter or strong emotions - when the baby laughs, there are sharp breaths that pinch the vagus nerve. It, in turn, sends a signal to the diaphragm and causes it to contract to release it.

Finally, an unexpected attack of hiccups in a baby can provoke a strong fright or surprise. Such emotions often cause this phenomenon, which, however, passes after the baby calms down. In this situation, the baby should be pressed as tightly as possible to him so that he can feel tactile contact with a loved one.

Serious causes of hiccoughs

Short-term hiccups, as in newborn babies, and in older children, should not cause much anxiety. In this phenomenon there is nothing terrible, however, if it arises constantly and lasts long enough, parents should think about it.

The reason for why a child hiccups every day can be the following factors:

• various disorders in the work of the nervous system;
• trauma from childbirth;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• inflammatory processes in any areas of the child's body;
• various infections;
• mechanical trauma of the chest or spinal cord.

In the event that a child constantly hiccups, it is only the doctor who can determine why this happens. As a rule, if this phenomenon acquires a permanent character, it becomes extremely intrusive and tedious, prevents the child from leading a habitual way of life and, in particular, causes sleep disturbances. That is why long-term and long-lasting hiccups can not be ignored.

In such circumstances, the child should immediately be shown to the pediatrician and a detailed examination with him in order to exclude serious causes that threaten life and health.