The Reflux Equation: What Causes Reflux?
So, the Reflux Equation. 🤓
Yip. I have to admit it: I was proud of myself when I came up with this one! I don't know what maths you did in school, and honestly, I cannot remember what I did either. I just know that somewhere in the 20-ish years of education (could have been uni!) I learned how to express one thing as a function of others.
I do remember the National Income Function in my economics class when I was 17, which I didn't actually understand or "get" until I did my MBA many years later. Then I discovered that the subject I thought I hated I actually loved because it was just maths. It was all about understanding what sort of contribution any part could play to the whole!
And reflux is no different. And it is also why so frequently there is disappointment when one trial of something doesn't work. It is because, in truth, "reflux" is a complex system.
So, over the next series of posts, I'm going to try and explain it a bit more simply to see if this helps...
Or explain it in terms of what are those things that can contribute to reflux and what we should be looking out to understand.
This underpins the basis of reflux and so will form the beginning of a proper diagnosis for every baby in the future.
This is what I look at with all my clients.
So, what influences reflux?
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Genetics (mothers, fathers, and grandmothers)
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Pregnancy
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Birth
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Crying
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Tongue Mobility
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Breastfeeding Mothers Diet
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Baby's diet (milk and/or solids)
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Breastfeeding Mother's Digestive System
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Baby's Digestive System
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Mothers Gut Microbiome
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Baby's Gut Microbiome
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Mum's Emotional Health
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Medications
Read for part 2 - looking at the role of genetics in reflux here.
Please share this note with those who might need more help and understanding of their little one.
When it comes to understanding which one is affecting your baby the most and what is causing your baby's reflux, it's time to work through the process of reading their symptoms. The process I use with my private clients is detailed in by book The Baby Reflux Lady's Survival Guide (read more).