Most new parents spend a lot of time and effort burping their baby during and after a feed. And they do this because that’s what their parents did, or they’re being told, “You just need to do it.” But is burping a baby really needed? Does it provide them with any benefit? The answer to those questions might actually surprise you.
Let’s talk about why parents burp their baby. The idea behind burping is that when babies are nursing, so they might be bottle feeding or breastfeeding, they are inhaling air, and this air becomes trapped in their stomach. And unless you help the little one burp that air out of their stomach, then they are going to be in pain and become fussier and more irritable. And they are also at higher risk of spitting up the milk. I mean, this makes sense, right, or does it? We now know that there’s a number of reasons why these beliefs might not be accurate.
Firstly, it’s based on the idea that babies don’t know how to burp. Babies will automatically burp when you change their position. It doesn’t have to be a loud burp, but air will escape. When you move them from lying up into sitting, they will naturally burp. Also, they have an extremely floppy sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach, which generally opens and closes regularly throughout the day because it’s really quite weak at this point. So that air is technically being able to escape all the time. If you follow this theory, you also believe that spitting up is painful for a baby, and burping a baby will reduce the incidents of a baby spitting up. Now, babies will spit up. The majority will actually regurgitate their food all the time, their milk all the time. And that is because the sphincter between the stomach is really floppy. The esophagus is quite small. And milk is a liquid, so it’s hard to keep in the stomach. And lastly, they spend a lot of their time lying down.
The majority of babies do regurgitate their milk, and it might stay in their mouth, or they might actually spit it out. And these babies are not uncomfortable when they are regurgitating the milk. Also, the theory that helping a baby burp will reduce the incidents of them spitting up milk was proven to be incorrect. In a study that was completed in India, where 71 mothers and babies were followed for three months, and one group of the parents were told to burp their baby religiously, and the other group were told not to burp their baby. And what that study found is that the ones who didn’t burp their baby were less likely to spit up. And the ones that did burp their baby were two times as likely to spit up their milk. So instead of burping, reducing the incidents of a baby spitting up, it actually increased the likelihood of that happening.
Parents are also encouraged to burp a baby because there is a belief that burping a baby will reduce the intensity of crying that the baby experiences or their overall fussiness. Now, the study that was completed in India with those 71 mothers and newborns actually showed that there was no difference in the level of fussiness a baby was or that intensity of crying that they had if they were burped or not burped. This essentially disproves that theory that burping a baby will actually mean that they’re more settled.
I would actually argue that burping a newborn might not actually be helpful. It might be unhelpful. And that is because that pressure to ensure that the baby is burped after or during a feed means that parents will often need to wake their little one up. And that is because when babies are feeding, their bodies automatically produce a hormone, which means that they get that sense of fullness, and they become sleepy and will fall asleep. Now, in the newborn phase, that isn’t such a big deal, and it makes it a lot easier for parents. But if they feel that they need to wake the baby up to burp them, then the baby is going to be awake for longer periods of time. It means the parents are going to have to resettle that baby to sleep. And it just disrupts the natural sleep progress that babies will go through. It might not actually be helpful. So, it might be worth just seeing if your baby actually needs to be burped. Now, if you are noticing your little one is fussy, what you might actually be seeing is the period of PURPLE crying or that witching hour. And I have lots of strategies that you can use, which will help you get through this period.
In the first couple of lives, the baby’s not that much. So I say, you’re burping sort of for practice of doing the movement. Often you will not get a burp because as I mentioned there’s not that much milk there. I take the baby up to burp the baby. Usually I’m breastfeeding. You try to feed on one side for 15 to 20 minutes. Take the baby off and burp before going to the other side. If you see the baby is actually quite comfortable with me holding, I have my thumb underneath the chin. My finger is right here on the other side. This hand is underneath the arm and I’m trying to stretch out this baby’s body so that the esophagus which is the feeding tube is as straight as possible. On the stomach and I literally burp like this. I’m doing a nice pat to the back with a baby bent forward. Little taps like that make the baby comfortable. I’m supporting the head. If the baby were to arch back I could catch the baby with this hand very nicely. This is my personal preference on burping position.
The other burping technique is over the shoulder. I bring the baby up. I’m trying to get the baby back as straight as possible. As I burp the baby with the head over the shoulder, tap tap tap tap right here. Sometimes, I do a massage. Massage up to try and get the burp out. I often say the paws, meaning the amount of time you wait between going back to feeding is almost more important than getting an actual burp. So give a couple minutes two to five minutes in between continuing feeding. This can also be a nice way to wake up the baby. If the baby’s starting to fall asleep on the breath or on the bottle and then I return the baby down to finish the feed.
Sometimes when you burp the baby, you get a little bit of spit up. The spit up comes out of the mouth or even the nose at the stage that is normal. As long as the spit up is sort of a milky color or yellowish color. I do not worry if the spit up is very forceful and projects and goes across the room. If it’s a greenish color that would be a reason to call your pediatrician and let them know otherwise that whitish milky spit up even if it comes out the nose is completely expected at the seat.
A lot of people burp their baby in a very traditional way. When you take the baby, you place the baby over your shoulder, and you pat. And that’s a great technique to use to burp the baby. However, sometimes the babies get a little too sleepy and so they don’t always get a good burp.
So for the other technique, I wanna show you how to burp the baby, I like this technique a lot because for starters, you wanna keep the baby nice and swaddled. And then what you’re gonna do is you’re gonna turn her. With this technique, the basic thing that you need to do is you need to make sure that her mouth is facing outward. And then you’re just gonna go ahead and pat. When you pat, you wanna make sure that you’re not doing a tiny, little pat but a good pat. That way you get a good burp. You can also rub the baby’s back and you can keep patting. I also really like this technique because she’s nice and comfortable. You can also sway with her. You can walk around. You can move with her. And also, it gets dads involved. So, after a mom feeds the baby, dad can burp the baby. So that’s one way.
The last technique I’m gonna show you I actually really like, I really like to use on babies just because it keeps them very alert. Now, you can do this one of two ways. You can, again, keep the baby nice and swaddled so they can’t move around a whole lot. And with this technique basically all I’m gonna do, I’m gonna sit Ms. Sophia up. Look at those eyes. They’re so wide. You’re so alert there, little one. So you’re gonna take your index finger and your thumb. You’re gonna place it right underneath her chin. And then you’re gonna allow her to, her chin right there. You’re gonna lean her forward just a little bit. What I like about this technique is you can see how alert she is. She’s ready. So with her chin resting on my hands, the palm of my hand is directly on her chest here. So I have total control over Ms. Sophia. And then you can go ahead and you can burp. And that way works really, really well.
So with that technique, I wanna also show you how to do it without a baby being swaddled. So the same concept. You’re gonna sit baby up. You’re gonna place your index finger and your thumb. You’re gonna lean her forward. And you’re gonna burp. And remember, you wanna make sure you do a really good pat, not a tiny, little one. You wanna make sure you get that gas to move around. So those are two really good extra techniques on how to burp your baby. I’m gonna pick you up. I know, I’m sorry. It’s okay. You’re okay. So just remember, when you burp your baby you’re always gonna wanna burp your baby after every feed. And then you’re actually gonna want, when they’re this new. I know. I’m sorry. You’re gonna wanna burp them in between the feeding. So let’s say you breastfeed for 15 minutes on one side. Burp the baby and then breastfeed on the other side. Then when you bottle, I know, I’m sorry, you wanna give the baby the first 10 ML to the bottle, burp, and then finish the bottle. You’re not always gonna hear an audible burp. That’s okay. As long as you’re burping the baby. So I know. Am I done? Am I done? It’s okay. So yeah, that was just a nice, short demonstration on how to burp your baby.