Hiccups in newborns

Little ones and troubles

When it comes to hiccups and newly born children, it should be pointed out that they are quite a common occurrence. Episodes as such can last anywhere from just a few minutes all the way to a few hours. As far as the major causes are concerned, they include swallowing a larger quantity of air, which is a particularly common occurrence during bottle-feeding.

Hiccups as such are distinguished for their specific sound that occurs as a direct consequence of diaphragm irritation. For those who are not that familiar with the structure of the diaphragm, this is a muscular sheet in the form of a dome, which performs the function of a separator of the chest and the abdominal portion. In terms of functions it performs, it is regarded as quite essential for the proper functioning of respiration and various other processes metabolic in nature. To give a simple example – it pulls and pushes at specific but regular moments in order to enable the entry and exit of air in the course of the respiration itself. This is how it performs its most prominent function, which sometimes tends to be changed by the hindrances coming from the outside, but also the ones that come from the inside.

Culprits to keep an eye on

Newborn children are quite prone to developing hiccups and this is especially true for the first couple of months of the post-birth period. But when it comes to that one common hiccup initiator in newborns, unfortunately, its cause remains unknown for the time being. One of the explanations provided is that hiccups occur in newborn children the same way and out of the same reasons as in adult persons. For the reference, hiccups occur in adults as a direct consequence of uncontrolled and forced tightening of the diaphragm. Even though these are not confirmed causers of hiccups in newborn children, they are regarded as those that every parent should keep an eye on at all times, in order to avoid not just the hiccups, but also some more serious conditions that might occur as a result of hiccups:

Certainly regarded as the most frequent cause is the swallowing of greater amounts of air in the course of the bottle-feeding.Due to the over excitement of those nerves that are responsible for the regulation of the diaphragm hiccups occur as well.The sole action of drinking milk or formula is also regarded as one of the possible reasons for the onset of hiccups.