Everyone gets the hiccups from time to time. Many parents worry that their babies are uncomfortable and try everything they can to stop the hiccups. Some mothers believe that hiccupping in a child is an indication of thirst. Others say it is suggestive of the baby trying to increase the size of his or her tommy to be able to take in more breast milk.
Hiccupping is something that researchers do not fully understand why it happens. But Professor Rosemary Ugwu, a consultant paediatrician at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), describes it as an action caused by sudden, spontaneous contractions of the diaphragm muscle that are most likely to occur just after a feed or when the child gets excited.
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of the baby’s chest. When it contracts, air is drawn into the lungs. When it relaxes, air is pushed out. Usually, those retractions and expansions occur in an even, controlled rhythm.
“When a child eats quite a lot or eats a little too fast and there is a lot of gas in the stomach that is pressing on the diaphragm, it stimulates it to contract or tighten gradually and causes a sharp intake of breath. When this happens, the vocal cord gets closed, which produces the ‘hiccup’ sound.
“Sometimes, they ingest air while taking a bottle or breastfeeding. Sometimes, there is a little reflux involved,” she added.
She declared that hiccups can be annoying but are not usually serious in babies and will typically go away after a while even if nothing is done.
Some paediatricians believe that infant hiccups are usually caused by feeding (breast, formula, or other foods) or by a drop in temperature that causes the baby to get cold.
Old wives’ tales and ethnic cultural traditions offer a whole lot of methods that go back centuries, like a gentle back rub, a sip of water, or putting a piece of thread on a baby’s head. It may just do the trick. Also, changing the child’s position and trying to get them to burp or relax may help.
But there is no scientific evidence that these acts do anything at all. At best, they provide a distraction that takes up time, during which the hiccups go away on their own.
Professor Ugwu said that “Sometimes, slightly pinching the nose may cause the hiccup to stop. Slightly pinching the nose several times can increase the pressure in the nose, and this can help to relax the diaphragm.
“Burping is another way to get rid of the hiccups. If breastfeeding, burp the baby when switching breasts. Rubbing the back can also help with burping. Sometimes, the baby needs a break so their tummy has time to digest. When they stop feeding and relax, they will stop hiccupping.”
She added, “In babies, hiccups are not an illness. It will stop. Parents just need to be patient − it will go on its own. Hiccupping decreases in frequency after their first few months or the first year of life.”
Some babies may experience hiccups more frequently. Babies with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may tend to hiccup more frequently, accompanied by spitting up, coughing, and irritability.
Basically, a baby’s digestive system is less developed at first, which can cause them to regurgitate stomach acid. This can cause hiccupping, belching, burping, and general discomfort. However, hiccups are considered harmless unless they prove persistent enough to interfere with regular feeding and sleeping.
Also, although baby hiccups are seldom the sign of a more serious underlying medical condition, the attention of a health expert may be needed to properly assess the situation when there are very frequent bouts of uncontrollable hiccups, particularly after age 1.
Interestingly, some researchers say that hiccups are beneficial for children. They believe that the hiccups may promote brain development and help regulate breathing.
A study at University College London (UCL) found that hiccups cause a surge of brain activity, which helps the baby learn to regulate its breathing.
During their study, the scientists recorded the brain activity of 13 newborns ranging from 30 to 42 weeks gestational age that had hiccups and found that the contractions of the diaphragm muscle caused by the hiccup caused a pronounced reaction in the cerebral cortex, as in two powerful brainwaves followed by a third.
Dr Lorenzo Fabrizi, a senior research fellow at the University College London’s department of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology and the study’s senior author, said: “The activity resulting from a hiccup may be helping the baby’s brain learn how to monitor the breathing muscles so that eventually breathing can be voluntary controlled by moving the diaphragm up and down.
“When we are born, the circuits that process body sensations are not fully developed, so the establishment of such networks is a crucial developmental milestone for newborns.”
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