Busting 3 Myths of Reflux & Colic

It's time to bust some reflux myths... Maybe its being Irish, maybe its the complete frustration I feel when another mum replays her last conversation with the doctor about her baby's reflux.
It's time to stop lying to ourselves.
It's time to stop believing that everything a doctor says is true because they are a doctor.
Sorry, this is not the case, and you probably know this already in your heart but are scared to admit it because it might mean that no-one has answers. And this is a scary place to be.
Give me a few minutes, read some of these myths below and see how you feel then...
Are you ready?
1. Reflux is Normal - no it isn't
This, and other myths that doctors spread, really anger me because they are completely incorrect.
The entire system is set up poorly. The NICE Guidelines are bullshit too.
Saying that reflux is normal is saying:
- it’s completely normal to be in constant pain. - it’s completely normal to throw up every meal you eat
- it’s completely normal to be unable to sleep because of pain and discomfort - it’s completely normal for you to be unable to participate in LIFE because your body is in constant discomfort
This is completely wrong, and unethical.
This is NO WAY to treat our youngest and most vulnerable members of society.
If you, with your own voice, explained your baby’s symptoms to a doctor as if they were your own, would they ignore you?
Would they tell you “it’s normal, you’ll be fine in 12 months time”, and if they did say this, would you think it was an acceptable answer?
It’s NOT an acceptable answer. It’s cruelty in action. And I’m calling time on it.
Yes, I want to change the NHS, and that is going to take time. However I’m not waiting by the sidelines until the doctors are ready to entertain a better way. I’m here, now, helping people just like you, change their lives.
I’ve been there. Twice. I know the heartache of holding your screaming baby, helpless to ease their suffering and feeling clueless as to what to try next.
Let me tell you that this doesn’t have to be a guessing game. This is not about “trying” the next thing.
When we read all of baby’s behaviours and symptoms as a pattern, we can figure out, rather quickly (within an hour) what is causing their discomfort.
And when we do this, we know what specific action to take to help them.
If you want to learn how to read your baby's symptoms, go here for my free symptoms tracker.
2. They're just a colicky baby - they are so much more, and they have colic
Colic is probably the most unhelpful diagnosis a doctor will give a baby, and lots of babies are officially diagnose with it.
It does nothing to help baby, or parents, and allows the medical profession to cast us aside without a care in the world.
If you’re reading this, you probably already know that the term “colic” is a complete write off.
๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ “๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐น ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ข, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น ๐ ๐๐๐๐”.
If your baby is screaming for 3 hours in a day, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด.
It could be that their “routine” is out of sync with their needs, are they getting overstimulated too often and therefore too tired?
Are they reacting to something in their food and so are uncomfortable and trying to tell you this?
Where there is a repeatable pattern like this, there is a reason. ๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐๐.
In my work, I have always found that colic is strongly (like 95% of the time) associated with digestive discomfort, and this is 100% ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
You see, our babies have a naturally immature digestive system, This means that they do not have all the digestive capabilities that they will have as they grow. This is why some babies "grow out of" colic and reflux, it’s actually because their digestive systems have matured.
The truth be told, is that when a baby is upset and the medics have checked that there is nothing sinister going on, it’s time for us, as their parents to ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ข๐ช๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐๐ก๐ฎ. When we observe everything that is going on for our babies we can completely resolve their discomfort and pain because we can make changes in how we are supporting them. But only when we listen to them.
The medics don’t help, because the guidelines they need to follow don't ever ask "why is a baby unhappy / uncomfortable / in pain?"
You already know that your baby is unhappy for some reason, and the start of deciphering what is going on always starts with observing their symptoms.
3. You baby is gaining weight so cannot have reflux - not true
Babies with reflux can gain weigh perfectly, gain weight excessively and lose weight depending on how their reflux is affecting them.โฃโฃ
๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง? โฃโฃ
Babies with reflux experience pain and discomfort of stomach acid burning and irritating their oesophagus. They learn very quickly that the act of feeding washes this acid back into the stomach and so they ask for more milk to soothe the pain.
Additionally, if baby has trapped gas or constipation, they instinctively know that the act of feeding and swallowing stimulates peristalsis in their entire digestive system and so they drink more to move this along to be more comfortable. Hence, baby can be asking for food a lot, and feeding a lot, and gaining plenty of weight, with or without vomiting some of the milk.โฃโฃ
๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, this happens because they cannot keep enough of their milk down to gain sufficient weight.โฃโฃ
โฃโฃ
In both instances, the answer lies in figuring out the ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ช๐ญ. โฃโฃ
โฃโฃ
When baby is gaining weight perfectly or excessively, the answer lies in understanding why baby is uncomfortable all the time and what is causing this discomfort. When we resolve the discomfort, baby doesn’t need to ease their own discomfort and so starts to ask for milk on a hunger basis.โฃโฃ
Then baby isn’t gaining sufficient weight, the answer lies in figuring out ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด. Not changing the consistency of their milk to make it more difficult to vomit out. โฃโฃ
Yes, this helps some babies, the side effects of thickening agents are threefold: โฃโฃ
- they continue to absorb fluids as they pass through the digestive system and can contribute to constipation
- they are complex carbs that many babies cannot digest properly so they ferment in their gut causing trapped gas, bloating etcโฃ
- the thickened milk now holds more air bubbles within the milk which are not released in the stomach to be burped out, so go into the gut contributing to more trapped gas and abdominal discomfort.โฃโฃ
Our doctors do not apply this approach because the WHO does not tell them to. In fact, there is no recommendation to ever understand the cause of reflux.โฃโฃ
And yes, I'm repeating myself here - the free symptoms tracker is where you start.
How to Cure Baby Reflux
The starting point for ALL babies and toddlers, regardless of their age, is to understand what symtpoms they are expericing that are connected to their reflux (this includes colic, silent reflux, CMPA and other allergies and intolerances as they all have cross-over symptoms).
Download your free Baby Reflux Sypmtoms Tracker right now and get started by understanding which of your baby's symptoms are related to their reflux.
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