You Don't Need to Burp Your Baby! Here's Why

0:00 - Most new parents spend a lot of time and effort burping their baby during and after a feed. And they do this because that's what their parents did, or they're being told, "You just need to do it." But is burping a baby really needed? Does it provide them with any benefit? The answer to those questions might actually surprise you. Before we answer those questions, make sure you click on that free PDF document to get the developmental checklist for your baby's first year of life.

0:28 So let's talk about why parents burp their baby. The idea behind burping is that when babies are nursing, so they might be bottle feeding or breastfeeding, they are inhaling air, and this air becomes trapped in their stomach. And unless you help the little one burp that air out of their stomach, then they are going to be in pain and become more fussy and irritable. And they are also at higher risk of spitting up the milk. I mean, this makes sense, right, or does it?

0:57 We now know that there's a number of reasons why these beliefs might not be accurate. Firstly, it's based on the idea that babies don't know how to burp. Babies will automatically burp when you change their position. So it doesn't have to be a loud burp, but air will escape. So when you move them from lying up into sitting, they will naturally burp. Also, they have an extremely floppy sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach, which generally opens and closes regularly throughout the day because it's really quite weak at this point.

1:28 So that air is technically being able to escape all the time. If you follow this theory, you also believe that spitting up is painful for a baby, and burping a baby will reduce the incidents of a baby spitting up. Now, babies will spit up. The majority will actually regurgitate their food all the time, their milk all the time. And that is because the sphincter between the stomach is really floppy. The esophagus is quite small. And milk is a liquid, so it's hard to keep in the stomach.

1:59 And lastly, they spend a lot of their time lying down. So the majority of babies do regurgitate their milk, and it might stay in their mouth, or they might actually spit it out. And these babies are not uncomfortable when they are regurgitating the milk. Also, the theory that helping a baby burp will reduce the incidents of them spitting up milk was proven to be incorrect. In a study that was completed in India, where 71 mothers and babies were followed for three months, and one group of the parents were told to burp their baby religiously, and the other group were told not to burp their baby.

2:35 And what that study found is that the ones who didn't burp their baby were less likely to spit up. And the ones that did burp their baby were two times as more likely to spit up their milk. So instead of burping, reducing the incidents of a baby spitting up, it actually increased the likelihood of that happening. Parents are also encouraged to burp a baby because there is a belief that burping a baby will reduce the intensity of crying that the baby experiences or their overall fussiness.

3:05 Now, the study that was completed in India with those 71 mothers and newborns actually showed that there was no difference in the level of fussiness a baby was or that intensity of crying that they had if they were burped or not burped. So this essentially disproves that theory that burping a baby will actually mean that they're more settled. I would actually argue that burping a newborn might not actually be helpful. It might be unhelpful. And that is because that pressure to ensure that the baby is burped after or during a feed means that parents will often need to wake their little one up.

3:44 And that is because when babies are feeding, their bodies automatically producing a hormone, which means that they get that sense of fullness, and they become sleepy and will fall asleep. Now, in the newborn phase, that isn't such a big deal, and it makes it a lot easier for parents. But if they feel that they need to wake the baby up to burp them, then the baby is going to be awake for longer periods of time. It means the parents are going to have to resettle that baby to sleep.

4:10 And it just disrupts the natural sleep progress that babies will go through. So it might not actually be helpful. So it might be worth just seeing if your baby actually needs to be burped. Now, if you are noticing your little one is fussy, what you might actually be seeing is the period of PURPLE crying or that witching hour. And I have lots of strategies that you can use, which will help you get through this period. And that's right here.

4:35 Make sure you click on that free PDF document in the description box below. And I will see you next week, where I'll share more parenting tips and tricks. (bouncy music)