How to PREVENT Baby Acid Reflux

Statistics done recently show that some 20% of the eight million babies born every year in the US suffer from acid reflux. In addition, babies that face developmental or neurological difficulties are even more at risk from this complaint. Baby acid reflux is a condition that has not been completely researched and that is also often subject to misinformation.

In simple terms, acid reflux, also called GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease) is a mechanical problem in the digestive system, which can be corrected. In a healthy person, there is a circular muscle acting as a valve at the junction of the stomach and the esophagus (called the lower esophageal sphincter) and stopping stomach acids from flowing back up the esophagus. Acid reflux happens when that sphincter cannot retain the acids in the stomach. These then move into the throat sometimes as far as the larynx. Numerous symptoms can result from acid reflux leading to complications like infections, pain, ulcers, difficulties in eating, vocal disorders and even cancer in the long run.

Baby acid reflux can be particularly difficult to diagnose and treat. Because an infant cannot give verbal expression to his or her feelings, it is difficult to determine if he or she is suffering from a medical problem. In addition, reflux condition is easy to confuse with usual vomiting in babies. For the first 3 to 4 months of an infant's life, frequent vomiting happens in half of all cases, with a peak at 4 months. Vomiting is both painful and distressing when caused by acid reflux.

To correctly diagnose infant acid reflux, it is necessary to identify several further symptoms of acid reflux. Besides sporadic vomiting, these infant acid reflux symptoms include: infections of the middle ear, enlargement of the adenoids, pains in the abdomen, anemia, asthma, crying non-stop, awakening at night without reason, vomiting of blood (hematemesis), continual coughing, a high-pitched sound when breathing, repeated croup, resistance to feeding and inflammation of the nose and the sinus. The best solution for correct diagnosis of infant acid reflux is to have a specialist diagnosis performed by an ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor or a gastroenterologist.

Possibilities for remedies to gastroesophageal reflux disease can be: medicaments, surgery and holistic programs. However, even for adult patients, surgery is rarely an option in normal situations. For baby acid reflux, neither medicament nor surgery is optimal answers. Medicaments may be sub-optimal in particular for infants for any of the three reasons below:

1. Medicaments for acid reflux target the acid reflux symptoms but neglect the deeper cause of the condition.

2. Medicaments for acid reflux can cause multiple secondary effects that are difficult to identify in infants.

3. Medicaments for acid reflux can interfere with an infant's immune system, meaning a weakened and vulnerable immunity, possibly leading to different health complications other than acid reflux as well as the aggravation of acid reflux.

The best solution to baby acid reflux is a holistic one while focusing on a global set of changes in lifestyle and diet. Strong support is given to this concept by recent research. One such research for example demonstrated that moving to soy-based formula from cow's milk based formula gave a 40% recovery rate in infants. Other research showed acid reflux symptoms being aggravated when infants received juice products. Modifying feeding and sleeping position was also seen to be of benefit in treating infant acid reflux.

By: Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin is a certified nutritionist and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, Heartburn No More . To Learn More About Jeff Martins Unique Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Baby Acid Reflux

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