What To Do If Your Baby Chokes On His Milk

When you are a mother, one of the hardest times is when you don’t know what to do if your baby is choking on milk, for example. This can be done with the breast or with a bottle. Choking is not uncommon during early childhood and is more common than you may think.

Being a mother for the first time means experiencing many new things related to the care and protection of your child. It is important that you are aware of the potentially dangerous moments that can affect the health of mother and child.

However, new mothers must remain calm and react quickly when their baby is choking on milk. Panic does not help and can even make the solution more difficult, endangering your baby’s health.

What should you do if your baby is choking on his milk?

Besides always trying to stay calm, here are a few tips:

• Immediately place the child on your knees with his face down.
• Gently pat your baby’s back with your palm to make him cough.
• This should be enough, as the coughing will clear the airways.

However, your child can also choke on something solid. In this case, parents can perform the so-called Heimlich grab. It is important to remember that this procedure can only be performed on children older than 12 months.

The Heimlich Grip

• To perform the Heimlich grab, sit down with your arms around the child.

• Place your hands on the stomach area and over the abdomen.
• Then apply pressure with one hand over the other.
• The pressure exerted between the chest and navel will dislodge the object or piece of food blocking the airway.

Other techniques if your baby is choking on his milk

• Place the child head up on the floor or other hard surface.
• Then place your hands together between the sternum and the navel.
• Apply pressure in 5 abdominal thrusts.

If this does not solve the problem , you should call the emergency services as soon as possible. It is important to keep all important numbers in an accessible place. The chance is extremely high that your memory does not work properly in these situations.

Causes of Choking

When a baby is choking, this can have several causes. Some we can prevent, but others have to do with your baby’s newly formed body.

If you notice that your baby is often choking on something, it is better to go to the pediatrician. He or she will see what can be done about it.

External factors that cause your baby to choke on milk

When you breastfeed your baby, the milk flows directly into his throat. It is possible that the flow of the milk is too strong. This can be solved by pressing the nipple or pumping a little milk before you start breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding properly prevents your baby from choking on milk. It is important that your baby is correctly attached to the mother’s nipple. The mother should make sure that her baby’s belly is against her stomach, while the baby’s nose is facing the nipple. This position allows the baby to drink properly.

On the other hand, if your baby is drinking from a bottle, the liquid may be flowing too fast. Young children cannot adapt to this, but this situation will resolve itself if you are patient.

Physical Factors

Some children have conditions that affect their ability to swallow or cause gastroesophageal reflux. This causes the contents of the stomach to rise again.

To make sure that the problem is physical and not related to nutritional problems, make an appointment with a medical specialist.

Reducing the risk of choking in babies

In a short time, your child will be able to eat and drink without your help. In the meantime , however, it is recommended that you follow these tips on what to do if your baby is choking on his milk :

• Do not let your child lie down after you have fed him. Hold him upright. In the event that reflux occurs, your child can cough and vomit without any danger.
• It is necessary to prevent your baby from drinking from the bottle unsupervised.
• Keep your child’s crib close to you for the first six to seven months.

With these simple tips you can reduce the risk of choking in babies. However, do not hesitate to go to the doctor if you see more serious problems, such as the reflux we mentioned above.