Newborn hiccups?

Question

I just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on Wednesday. Whether she feeds from the breast or bottle, she gets the hiccups after every single feeding. Is this normal? Is there anything we can do for her?

Answer 1

Congratulations!
The hiccups are completely normal. It bothers we Mom's much more then it does the baby. In fact it is just a involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that doesn't hurt them at all. She will mature and the hiccups will subside. I promise! Enjoy her!

Answer 2

While many cases develop spontaneously, hiccups are known to develop often in specific situations, such as eating too quickly, taking a cold drink while eating a hot meal, eating very hot or spicy food, laughing vigorously or coughing, or drinking an excess of an alcoholic beverage. Hiccups may be caused by pressure to the phrenic nerve by other anatomical structures, or rarely by tumors and certain kidney disease. It is reported that 30% of chemotherapy patients suffer singultus as a side effect to treatment. (American Cancer Society)

It is still unclear to scientists exactly why hiccups occur, particularly because it doesn't seem to give us any specific benefit. Some speculation exists that hiccups are a remnant of a bodily function that has been phased out by evolution, such as the move from aquatic gilled creatures to land animals. Ultrasounds have also shown that unborn fetuses experience hiccups. Some suggested hypotheses include hiccups as a possible muscle exercise for the child's respiratory system prior to birth or as a preventive measure to keep amniotic fluid from entering the lungs[1]. More research is required to ascertain their true nature, origins, and purpose, if any. Additionally, its extraordinary and complex remedies also make it harder for any scientists to find out the cause.

Answer 3

Totally normal. My doc said that it is a newborn nervous system at work, and that even very frequent hiccups are normal. He said he would be way more worried about the ABSENCE of hiccups, that that would mean the nervous sytem wasn't firing properly. I was so worried about that, too!

Answer 4

OH BOY IS IT NORMAL. They do get the hiccups quite regular like. In fact so regular that it is really strange. My oldest seemed to get them just from breathing.

Don't worry Baby girl is terrific and there isn't a whole lot you can do.

And Congrads on being a mom.

Answer 5

It's totally normal, and it doesn't seem to bother them too much (do you remember feeling the hiccups in utero?) I believe hiccups are due to an immaturity of the nervous system, which they grow out of. My son is 13 wks and he still gets them but maybe once every couple days. Like your daughter, he used to get them after every feeding.

Best of luck and congratulations!!!

Answer 6

It's normal for a new born to have hiccups. It helps build strong lung and abdomen muscles. You probably noticed her having hiccups when you were still pregnant.

Answer 7

Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! Hiccups can be triggered from trapped gas as well as a few other things. Here is a link with some info;
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1115.html
My daughter used to get them too. Make sure she gets burped extra well. With my daughter, I had to gently rub her side (the left side of baby where the stomach is more off to) starting from her belly area up to her little underarm. In gentle, slow upward motions. That is the only way she would bring the burp out! Blessings to your family. :)

Answer 8

I don't know - but my daughter would always get hiccups when I laid her down to change her diaper, when she was a newborn. It was strange, but it would happen every time!

Answer 9

My newborn got hiccups all of the time, the really deep painful ones that really pissed her off. We used Gripe Water, it worked 99% of the time, it even work on me, I was amazed how fast!! I found it at the local Hy-Vee store.

Answer 10

Perfectly normal! My son got them at least twice a day. I would just rub his back. He never seemed to mind getting them so I didn't have trouble with them. He is 3 months old now and hardly ever gets them. Be patient your baby will stop getting them soon enough!!

Congrats.