Baby gagging on spit-up

Is your baby gagging or spitting up? Expert parenting educator, Sarah McCormick explains exactly what to do if your baby is showing signs of this.
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Baby gagging on spit-up

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It's really unlikely that an infant would choke on spit-up. Until they're a year old, babies have an overactive gag reflex that prevents them from choking. The important thing to know about feedings, and if you have a baby that's gagging while they're eating, is to slow the feeding down. Staying on the number one nipples or low-flow nipples as long as possible helps infants lengthen out their feedings and to feel more comfortable, and decreases the likelihood that they'll gag on a fast-flow nipple. If a baby's gagging when you put them on the breast, it could be from an overactive letdown. It's important to take them off, let them breathe, and then you can put them back on.

Is your baby gagging or spitting up? Expert parenting educator, Sarah McCormick explains exactly what to do if your baby is showing signs of this.

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Sarah McCormick, MA, CLE

Parent Educator

After attending parenting groups as a mom with both her first and second child, she loved it so much, she decided that working with babies and parents was what she wanted to do for a living.  Sarah McCormick made a 180 degree career change, and enrolled at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena where Sarah obtained a Masters Degree in Human Development with a concentration in Infant and Toddler Development. Sarah is also a Certified Lactation Educator and a Perinatal Mood Disorders Specialist to better support the parents she works with.

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Transcription: 
It's really unlikely that an infant would choke on spit-up. Until they're a year old, babies have an overactive gag reflex that prevents them from choking. The important thing to know about feedings, and if you have a baby that's gagging while they're eating, is to slow the feeding down. Staying on the number one nipples or low-flow nipples as long as possible helps infants lengthen out their feedings and to feel more comfortable, and decreases the likelihood that they'll gag on a fast-flow nipple. If a baby's gagging when you put them on the breast, it could be from an overactive letdown. It's important to take them off, let them breathe, and then you can put them back on.