Breastfeeding Questions - Hiccups and Wind
I had my baby 7 days ago and I am breastfeeding but she seems to have hiccups 10 minutes before each feed and then it clears. Then when I have finished feeding she will have hiccups again. Is this okay?
When I asked a midwife in hospital she said you don't have to wind a breastfeeding baby. Is this true? (I am winding and she gets lots of wind up. Shall I carry on?)
Congratulations on the birth of your new baby and well done for breastfeeding her!
Hiccups are completely normal and even unborn babies hiccup in the womb. All three of my babies were breastfed and thrived on breastmilk but they often got the hiccups too!
If you are worried speak to your GP or health visitor. Or join a breastfeeding support group to speak to other mums and professionals about your worries. I still attend a local group regularly and find it a wonderful source of information!
As regards winding a breastfed baby, in my own experience, I winded all three of my breastfed babies and they all needed to be winded! Hungry babies tend to gulp a lot of air with their milk and sometimes the let-down reflex can be so strong that they become a little overwhelmed with the fast flow of the milk! And this can cause wind and hiccups!
The whole idea of not winding a breastfed baby is one of those old wives tale, I think! Why wouldn't you? I found that if I didn't wind my own babies in the middle of a breastfeed they often had a huge burp at the end of the feed and brought the whole lot back up again. And then we both had to start feeding all over again!
So keep doing what you feel is right but do consult your GP if you are at all worried.
Let me know how things go!
Sinead
