Supporting parents of babies with feeding issues
Reflux
- Symptoms
- Advice
- Product
Reflux is when a baby brings their milk back up or is sick during or just after a feed. It is common, and usually resolves by the time they are a year old.
Symptoms include:15,16
- Crying when feeding
- Regularly bringing up milk
- Hiccups or coughing
- Refusing milk or choking during feeds
- Poor weight gain
- Waking often at night
Reflux affects at least 40% of infants under one year old.17
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is when it happens frequently and becomes painful. The baby may have abdominal pain, be unsettled after a feed, spit up the feed frequently or have difficulties feeding, which may in turn lead to inadequate weight gain.
Silent reflux is when there are symptoms as above, but the milk goes up the food pipe and is then swallowed back down so it may be harder to tell if the baby is affected.
If the baby is losing or not gaining weight, starts to get symptoms after 6 months or nothing is helping after a couple of weeks, the parent/carer should speak to their GP.15
Parents/carers can be advised to try:16,17
- Holding the baby as upright as possible during feeding and keeping them upright for at least an hour after their feed
- Burping them regularly during feeds.
It is not advised to use positional management to treat GOR in sleeping infants. In line with NHS advice, infants should be placed on their back when sleeping.17
If formula-feeding, they can try feeding the baby smaller feeds more frequently, or a trial of a thicker formula designed to be less likely to come back up.18
If breastfeeding this should be encouraged to continue and a person with appropriate expertise and training should carry out a breastfeeding assessment.17 It may also be appropriate to see their GP for a trial of alginate therapy.17,18
SMA® Anti-Reflux is a food for special medical purposes and must be used under medical supervision.
SMA® Anti-Reflux is nutritionally complete and suitable for babies from birth to 12 months for the dietary management of frequent reflux and regurgitation. It can be used as the sole source of nutrition in place of baby's usual formula feeds up to 6 months of age, and can be mixed with foods once weaning has begun.
Parents or carers may notice a change in baby's stool when changing to SMA® Anti-Reflux. This is due to the different ingredients and is normal.
- Thickened formula with starch, designed to help feeds stay down
- Contains a unique combination of starch and 100% whey, partially hydrolysed protein for the dietary management of significant reflux and regurgitation
- Nutritionally complete.
