What is reflux?
Reflux, silent reflux and colic are all symptoms. This is so important to stress, and something you may not have heard before.
If your baby cries excessively, seems like they are in pain often, has trouble sleeping or staying asleep, possets, vomits or projectile vomits, you may have already visited your GP and been told they have colic, reflux or silent reflux. You might have been told it is normal for babies to be sick as they have a “weak lower oesophageal valve”, and it is something “they will grow out of at some point”. Not exactly helpful, and not true. I will tell you why.
All babies are born with low muscle tone, which is why they can’t hold their heads up when born and walk within hours of birth, as other mammals can. This is true of all muscular structures in the body. The lower oesophageal valve is a ring of muscle at the entrance to the stomach. As it is a muscle, it also has low muscle tone, or strength, and is therefore also ‘weak’. All babies have the same weakness in this valve, but not all babies have reflux do they? This valve is not designed to be clamped shut. For burps to come up, hiccoughs to happen and the body to expel allergens, bacteria or other dangerous substances from the body as vomit, the valve needs to open. It is not a one-way valve – it is designed for both access into the stomach AND for contents to get out of the stomach.
Silent reflux is when stomach contents travel from the stomach, back up the oesophagus to the throat, and down again. Reflux is slightly more forceful, and the stomach contents come out of the mouth as sick, sometimes described as ‘posseting’.
Addressing the root cause
If the stomach is trying to get rid of its contents, we need to work out why that is. Is it because something in their milk is causing an allergy response? Is it because there is excess air filling up the stomach, forcing milk back out? And if so, why is there excess air? How can we stop this happening?
My son suffered for 10 months. It took me that long to find out such a thing as an infant reflux specialist existed. Two days after we spoke to someone, our lives completely changed. He went from being sick countless times a day, struggling to sleep for long periods, wanting to be on me a lot, having various rashes, being constipated, generally being unsettled and our lives revolving around reflux, to being sick 1-3 times a day and being a much happier baby who then was comfortable enough to sleep properly.
He turned two in February and I have only recently felt able to fully enjoy him. For so long our daily lives were a battle of colic, reflux, CMPA, other food allergies, food intolerances, constipation, tongue tie, lip tie, fighting for help from various health care professionals, having his tongue tie cut and seeing a myofunctional therapist to allow that to happen. You can read my full story here.
What can be done to help?
I don’t want any parent to have to go through what we did. I have learned so much from my baby and I know what it’s like to have an unsettled baby and how to stop reflux for every baby.
My job as a holistic infant reflux specialist is to look at over 80 signs, symptoms and behaviours your baby is presenting, put them together and work out what is happening. What is the cause of their reflux? Because there is ALWAYS a cause. Reflux is a symptom, NOT a diagnosis.
My approach is bespoke and in order to help…
- I ask you to fill in an in-depth questionnaire
- Read through your answers to start understanding your baby
- We have a 1 hour 30-minute Zoom call talk in more detail and for me to start explaining what has been causing your baby to suffer
- I spend time researching the best way to help your baby
- Send you a written summary of what the causes are and how to address them
- Book in a follow-up call 1-2 weeks later to make sure you and our baby are in a much happier place
Please do reach out if you are struggling with any of the things mentioned above. I can help.
Emma x
Baby massage is a great tool for parents of reflux babies. You can find out more about more about Basking Babies courses here.
