Does Your Baby Have GERD?

Before you can understand GERD you need to comprehend what GER is.

GER is describes a continuous every day normal function. Very simply, gastro esophageal reflux (GER) describes the physiologic condition in which stomach contents come back up from the stomach into the esophagus. It is a physiologic process, which means it is normal. In fact all babies have reflux and so do you. It is normal for the stomach to occasionally push its contents up into the esophagus briefly every now and then. It is how often that the stomach does this that makes it a painful thing.

In a healthy baby GER doesn't cause problems. The acid that makes up the refluxed material can irritate the esophagus and upper airway so much that symptoms develop.

When symptoms interfere with a baby's day-to- day activity reflux is referred to s gastroesoophageal reflux disease (GERD). Doctors may refer to it as pathologic reflux.

The difference between GER and GERD is key. It helps us discriminate between a normal function and an abnormal one. Babies with GER spit up but don't suffer any consequences. This is your average happy, healthy growing baby with wet burps.

On the other hand babies with GERD typically face problems relating to feeding, growth or breathing as a consequence of their reflux. These are typically identified, as sick babies ho need medical attention. So while all babies have some degree of GER fewer suffer from GERD.

Everyone including you and your baby experiences reflux during the day. However as an adult you do not need a burping cloth.

Babies' reflux is due to elements of infant physiology and anatomy, which may lead some credence to Dr. Harvey Karp's theory that there is a 'fourth trimester' that a baby experiences outside the womb. (Karp is a very famous contemporary pediatrician whose advice is dutifully followed by many parents.)

The theory is that usually a faulty stomach valve causes GERD. It is faulty in a baby because it has yet to develop.

This valve in question is at the bottom of the esophagus. It is a ring of muscles called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that helps keep stomach contents where they belong.

In babies the LES does not stay squeezed closed. When this happens stomach contents are allowed to flow back into the esophagus. By the time a baby is six weeks old these muscles grow stronger and less regurgitation is likely.

The fact that reflux can go on more than one or two months o face tells us that reflux is due to more than just a LES issue.

On of the major factors contributing to reflux in infants is the delayed emptying of the stomach. Under normal circumstance a liquid meal should be gone from a baby's stomaching approximately a half an hour to an hour. During the first months of a baby's life the stomach can be inefficient at emptying and milk has a tendency to sit in the stomach longer than it should. This is because the baby just has slower intestinal motility and there is nothing anyone can really do about it except cope with it and be tolerant until the baby's digestive system is more mature.

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Colic Is Not Your Fault

You've heard about this but you never thought it would happen to you. You are the proud brand new parents of a miserable, inconsolable newborn who does not stop screaming and who can't sleep and can barely feed! So much for the joys of parenthood

Sleepless nights are spent in complete sacrifice to try and remedy your child's numerous complaints and problems but those few moments of peace that you long for just never seem to come. Days run into weeks and you wonder how you could possible be such a rotten parent what you did to cause this.

Then you get the diagnosis from your pediatrician and uh oh – it's colic. Most parents have the right to dread this diagnosis simply because the word 'colic' is one of those throwaway diagnosis like fibromylagia or personality disorder. It has no meaning and a multifarious number of meanings at the same time. It is also a diagnosis that means 'it's nothing' while at the same time being a big deal that could keep you up at night and worried at night for as long as two years.

The first thing you need to realize is that colic is not your fault. It is one of those random acts of Mother Nature rigged to make you feel guilty but it its occurrence has nothing to do with you.

Colic is a condition that can sometimes only be managed rather than cured. Sometimes your doctor is reluctant to tell you this at first. After weeks of dealing with a cranky kid you might still be hoping that somehow that the next visit to your pediatrician can help you fix the colic. After three or four visits you are definitely going to get the impression that you are getting the bum's rush out of the doctor's office. You might even hear the line 'We've done all we can do.'

The best thing you can do for you and your baby is drop any kind of self –blame or negative self talk and realize that your child is in crisis and that you need to weather it through with him or her. Colic is the result of bad parenting, a lack of love or bad karma. It 'just happens' just like that other four letter word that starts with an S.

You need to keep in mind that for decades down that any time a kid screamed it was called colic. In fact all colic really means is a baby that is fussy because it is irritable.

Keep in mind that colic was never really defined. It was just a catchall phrase that was coined in an era when doctors did attribute cranky baby behavior to irresponsible parenting, spoiling the baby and all types of causes.

In a way it is an exciting time to have a baby who has colic because it is actually an area of infant care that is being revolutionized. The old theories are no longer being subscribed to and your problem is being considered more seriously not only by allopathic doctors but also by and alternative practictioners.

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