How to Stop Hiccups in Babies

Try breastfeeding your baby. Hiccups occur when the diaphragm is stimulated. When your baby takes small, slow-paced sips of breast milk, the diaphragm gets a chance to rest, helping it transition from irregular spasms back to its normal rhythm of movement.

If hiccups happen during a feeding, try giving your baby something to eat. As mentioned, swallowing can help stabilize the diaphragm. Some ideal foods you can offer your baby include:

• Apple sauce
• Rice cereal
• Mash bananas

If your baby is old enough, let them drink water. Some people recommend drinking water in an "incorrect posture" (e.g., bending over or leaning backward), but both are clearly difficult and risky for young children. It's best to give your baby a bottle with a nipple or even a sippy cup if they are old enough.

Slow down the milk flow. When your baby swallows too much milk too quickly, their stomach can become overfilled, causing hiccups from diaphragm spasms. Try feeding your baby in two smaller sessions instead of one large one. This way, your baby will swallow less milk at a time, hopefully preventing hiccups from starting.

Pause and burp your baby during feeds. Another way to slow down the milk intake is by giving your baby a "break" during each feeding session. When transitioning between breasts, stop and burp your baby before continuing to the other side. If you're bottle-feeding, pause to burp your baby after they’ve consumed half the bottle. This gives them a chance to digest a little, preventing overfeeding and helping to avoid hiccups.

Keep your baby upright while feeding. Babies can swallow too much air during feedings, which causes their stomach to expand. Sometimes adjusting their position can solve this issue. Hold your baby upright (at a 30 to 45-degree angle) while feeding to reduce the chance of air entering the stomach, preventing diaphragm spasms.

Make sure your baby is latching correctly. If the mouth doesn’t form a tight seal around the nipple, your baby may swallow air while feeding. Do you hear quick, gulping sounds while your baby nurses? If so, adjust the latch so the baby’s mouth and the breast are sealed properly.

Bottle-feeding can reduce the amount of air swallowed. Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle to prevent air from entering the bottom of the bottle, minimizing the chance of your baby swallowing air. You can also purchase bottles designed to reduce air intake.

Use a little sugar. Initially a 'trick' from experienced mothers, some doctors now endorse it. Moisten the tip of a pacifier or your finger, then dip it into a small amount of sugar. Let your baby suck on it for a few minutes, and the hiccups will gradually stop. This practice (though still unproven scientifically) suggests that the effort of swallowing granulated sugar interrupts the hiccup cycle, allowing the diaphragm to return to normal.

• Note: Try placing a little sugar under your baby's tongue and encourage them to swallow quickly before the sugar dissolves.
• Another option is to dip the pacifier tip into sugar and offer it to your baby.

Burp your baby. This will help release any trapped air from your baby’s stomach. Usually, your baby will let out one final loud burp before the hiccups stop.

Try gripe water. Although there’s no medical evidence to support its effectiveness for hiccups, many parents still use this syrup to ease their baby’s tummy discomfort.

• Mix a little gripe water with water and administer it using a dropper. Be aware that your baby could be allergic to some of the ingredients, such as alcohol, ginger, fennel, or dill seed, etc.

Keep your baby completely upright. Try to keep your baby in a standing position, or hold their hands and help them stand. If your baby experiences reflux after eating, doctors recommend maintaining an upright position for 30 minutes after feeding.

Distract your baby. Distracting your baby with games or toys not only keeps them entertained while they have hiccups but can also help stop the hiccups.

• Play peek-a-boo.
• Give your baby a rattle.
• Offer teething toys.

Avoid other methods. While the following folk remedies are quite popular, they could potentially harm your baby, so it's best to avoid them. These remedies include:

• Scaring your baby (effective for adults but generally not for infants)
• Pressing on the soft spot of your baby’s head
• Pressing on your baby’s eyeball
• Pulling on your baby’s tongue
• Hitting your baby’s back

If nothing works, just wait it out. Although hiccups can be quite annoying, most episodes aren’t a sign of something serious. If your baby experiences hiccups for hours or days, it's a good idea to consult a doctor. However, for most parents, simply waiting and being patient, without intervening, is what doctors typically recommend.

Diagnosing other underlying conditions. Some hiccup episodes may be caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This common condition occurs when food from the stomach flows back into the esophagus, causing pain and hiccups. If your baby seems to have frequent hiccups, this might be the cause. Keep an eye out for these symptoms:

• Crying due to stomach pain
• Stomach discomfort
• Frequent vomiting

Consult a pediatrician. If you're concerned that your baby might have gastroesophageal reflux disease, visit a pediatrician to discuss treatment options. In many temporary cases, the doctor might recommend letting the condition resolve on its own.

• Your baby's hiccups will resolve on their own.
• A newborn may feel discomfort from hiccups. Try feeding or gently rocking your baby until they are comfortable. This may help relax their muscles.
• Talk to your baby: engaging in a conversation will distract them and the hiccups will likely go away on their own.

• Avoid scaring your baby or making them cry. While this may stop the hiccups, it is not a healthy long-term solution.