Why do we burp babies?
In: Biology
Because babies tend to swallow a little air when they are nursing, and if we don’t burp them, they may be in a bad mood because they have stomach pain, and they will spit up anyway but not on a burp cloth on your shoulder.
True story, My wife was 18 when we met and she didn´t know how to burp. She always had indigestion symptoms from trapped air and burping was a great revelation to her 🙂
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Besides the whole, swallow air and get a tummyache thing that babies do, they also don’t have the core strength/muscle tone to burp for a while after they’re born; it’s muscle that has get strong enough first even if it’s involuntary.
It’s a common convention that isn’t really supported by research. This is a case of doing something because it is done.
But people think it helps with indigestion.
A lot of it is medical folklore/tradition, not actually based on evidence.
Young babies have an immature LES (lower-esophageal sphincter) that easily opens when there is pressure in the stomach. This is part of the reason why babies spit up when they are full. This muscle strengthens over time as we age, so spitting up and reflux improve. (This muscle is one of the main culprits in adults who suffer from acid reflux, or heartburn)
There is little evidence that burping actually is needed, since air should escape easier in a baby than in an adult.
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