The Best Sleeping Position for a Baby with Reflux

Acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), is something many babies have until around 6 months of age. During these early months, babies have a tendency to spit up, because the valve at the base of their esophagus, which connects to the stomach, is not fully developed. Your pediatrician can do tests to determine if your baby is suffering from acid reflux. There are a few ways to help your little one through the night if he is having problems with acid reflux, and hopefully get some sleep yourself.

  1. Sling or Hammock

    • Having a baby sleep in a sling or carrier, such as a wrap or pouch, is one suggestion from greenmomhappymom.com. These types of carriers don't put pressure on the baby. The problem is, many slings or carriers are made to be worn, requiring the parent to have to wear the baby during sleeping times to ease acid reflux. Instead of letting your baby sleep in the sling, try wearing her for 30 minutes after feeding, which helps calm the baby, and cuts down on acid reflux. Greenmomhappymom.com also recommends a baby hammock that was designed specifically for babies with acid reflux. Using the baby hammock keeps the baby's head and torso elevated, which helps control acid reflux.

    Elevation

    • Dr. Sears, writing for parents.com, finds keeping your baby positioned correctly in his crib will help create a good night's sleep and keep acid reflux away. He suggests elevating the head of the crib 30 degrees. This is enough of an elevation to cut down on nighttime acid reflux and regurgitation. Dr. Sears also finds having your baby sleep on her left side will allow the stomach inlet to be higher than its outlet, which will help keep food down.

    Wedge

    • Infanctreflux.org finds that having your baby sleep in the prone position, or stomach position, is helpful for babies with reflux. Many parents are concerned about infants sleeping on their backs for fear of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), so be sure to discuss using this position with your doctor before trying it. You can purchase a reflux wedge that keeps the baby on his stomach on an angle while he is sleeping. This helps alleviate acid reflux, and makes for a sound night of sleep.

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