What Infant Formula Is Good to Use With Reflux?

An infant with acid reflux, referred to as gastroesophageal reflux, suffers from recurrent spitting or vomiting after feedings and may exhibit symptoms like arching of the back and wheezing. Doctors such as Samuel Nurko of the Children's Hospital Boston suggest using a thickened formula to help alleviate the symptoms of GER along with other treatments recommended by your health care provider.

  1. Traditional Recommendations

    • Doctors originally recommend that infants with GER receive a non-milk based formula such as soy or hypoallergenic formulas, as research had found an association between the whey proteins of traditional formulas and the occurrence of reflux. In addition doctors recommended that parents use a formula that had been prethickened with rice cereal or that they add a small amount of rice cereal to the formula themselves because a thicker formula was likely to be regurgitated by the infants. Formulas available today that are prethickened with rice include Similac Sensitive R.S. and Parents Choice Added Rice Starch.

    Anti-Regurgitation Formula

    • A study of Nutritional Management of Children with Gastroesophageal Reflux by a team of doctors at Miami Children's Hospital in 2003 compared the effectiveness of a traditional rice thickened formula to an anti-regurgitation formula pre-thickened with cornstarch. The study found that the anti-regurgitation formula offered more relief to infants with reflux than the rice thickened formula since those receiving the AR formula had a significant decrease in vomiting occurrences while those on the rice thickened formula did not. For normal regurgitation episodes there was no significant difference between the two types of formula though. There is currently only one formula available on the market thickened with cornstarch rather than rice: Enfamil A.R.

    Making the Right Choice

    • As always, when treating a medical condition such as GER you should always consult your child's doctor before deciding on a treatment, such as which formula to provide your baby. A medical professional will help to determine the severity of your child's acid reflux determining which formula they may need. While a child that suffers regular regurgitation can benefit from rice thickened and anti-regurgitation formulas and child that suffers from episodes of vomiting related to GER may not find adequate relief from a rice thickened formula. Additionally, though doctors recommended parents add rice cereal to formula themselves in the past, they no longer advise this as a formula thickened too much can pose a choking hazard to the infant.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • Can you feed baby puppies formula?
      Its possible to feed baby puppies formula, but it should only be done under the guidance of a veterinarian. Heres why:* Puppy formula is specifically designed for their nutritional needs. Its different from kitten formula and regular cows milk, whic
    • What are some soy types of baby formula?
      There are no soy types of baby formula. There are simply soy-based baby formulas, which are made with soy protein isolate. However, within the category of soy-based formulas, you might find different variations based on:* Specific needs: Some soy for
    • How to Change Infant Formulas
      There may be times during your newborns development when you feel you need to change formulas. Your baby may be colicky, throwing up frequently, experiencing diarrhea or may not be gaining weight. Most doctors agree breast milk is best for growing ch