Hiccups are a relatively common thing for babies. This is due, in part, to the immature neuromuscular system of the baby. In addition, reflux can cause the baby’s airway to become irritated, or for a bubble to form that will cause your baby to start hiccupping. Once your baby starts to hiccup, it will often be quite a long time before the baby is able to stop hiccupping. While many babies don’t mind the hiccup, hiccupping does severely bother some babies. Fortunately, there are some things that you can try in order to help your hiccupping baby.

One thing that you might use to help your hiccupping baby is gripe water. Gripe water is, primarily, designed to help the baby with colic. However, the ingredients contained in gripe water are known to help with a variety of gastrointestinal discomforts, such as those that cause hiccups. One of the main ingredients in gripe water is fennel. Fennel is a safe and natural treatment that has been used for over a century. Fennel helps not only with hiccups, but also with gas and an upset stomach. Another common ingredient in gripe water is sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is useful in that it helps to decrease the acidity of the stomach, which may prevent some of the reflux that causes hiccups, or that makes it painful for the hiccupping baby.

There are other things that you can do to try to help your hiccupping baby. One thing that may help your hiccupping baby is to try to burp your baby more frequently during feedings. In some cases, just feeding your baby, whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, can help your hiccupping baby. The swallowing and sucking that accompany feeding can help to relax the diaphragm muscle that contracts during hiccups.

Hiccups are not considered to be dangerous for your baby, and will very often go away on their own within a few minutes. If your baby experiences hiccups for a prolonged period of time, you may wish to speak with your health care provider.

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