Pregnancy Questions

If a baby with reflux is otherwise happy and putting on weight well, this is called ‘simple reflux’. It doesn’t hurt the baby and it usually stops by itself as the baby grows. If your baby is bringing up large amounts of milk after a feed, seems to be in pain after a feed, arches her back after a feed and is fussy, is unhappy between feeds and has problems gaining weight speak to your health care provider for some medical advice.

Reflux is when the contents of the stomach are brought back up into the oesophagus (tube from the mouth to the stomach) or the mouth. There can be spilling from the mouth. Babies can get reflux if they are breast fed or formula fed, however the episodes are more frequent in formula fed babies.

These things aren’t safe to use in your baby’s bed:

• pillows and cushions

• loose blankets, sheets, covers or other loose bedding

• bumper pads (pads that attach to the ends and sides of cribs)

• loose ribbons, ties or threads on a baby’s clothes

• toys, teething necklaces, or anything they could suffocate or choke on.

SUDI stands for Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy. SUDI is rare and the risk of your baby dying from it is very low. The main risk factors are smoking during pregnancy and bed sharing in an unsafe way. To reduce the risks of SUDI place your baby in sleep baby on their back, keep head and face uncovered, keep baby smoke free before and after birth, safe sleeping environment night and day, sleep baby in a safe cot in parents' room for the first 6-12 months and breastfeed baby.

It’s recommended that pacifiers aren’t used until 3-4 weeks old and 6-8 weeks in breastfed babies as that tends to be when mother’s milk supply has established. Never substitute a pacifier for a feed.