Silent reflux baby

16/07/2025

Silent Reflux in Babies: How to Detect It

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is well known to new parents: spit-up, crying after feeding, arching of the back... But sometimes, reflux happens without any visible regurgitation. This is called silent reflux. Harder to detect, it can still be very uncomfortable for the baby and worrisome for parents. So, how can you recognize this invisible issue?

What is Silent Reflux?
Unlike “classic” reflux, silent reflux doesn’t cause visible spit-up. Acid travels up into the esophagus (and sometimes the throat) but doesn’t come out through the mouth. This makes diagnosis trickier… yet symptoms are often very real.

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of common signs of silent reflux in babies:

Discomfort after feeding
• Baby cries or becomes fussy right after or 30–60 minutes after feeding.
• Arches their back, squirms, seems inconsolable.

Unexplained cough or throat noises
• A dry cough, especially at night or after meals.
• Gurgling in the throat, as if constantly swallowing saliva or fluid.

Poor sleep or frequent night wakings
• Waking every hour, restless sleep.
• Baby sleeps better when upright (in arms, baby carrier, etc.).

Feeding refusal or difficulty eating
• Often stops during feeding, appears uncomfortable.
• Cries when offered breast or bottle.

Sour or bad breath
• Unusual mouth odor may be a sign of frequent acid reflux.

When to Seek Medical Advice
Each of these signs alone may not be enough for a diagnosis, but if you notice several of them regularly, talk to your pediatrician. They can:
• Assess the situation with a clinical exam.
• Sometimes suggest a trial treatment or further tests (pH monitoring, endoscopy in rare cases).

Don’t wait until it worsens: Silent reflux can lead to esophageal inflammation (esophagitis), sleep disturbances, or slow weight gain.

02/05/2025

Practical Tips to Help a Child Who Chews on Their Clothes, Based on Possible Causes:

1 Offer Safe and Appropriate Alternatives
There are items specifically designed to be chewed:
Chewelry (chewable jewelry): discreet and safe, often worn around the neck.
Chewable sensory sticks or pens.
Oral sensory toys (made of BPA-free silicone).
These allow the child to meet their oral needs without damaging clothing or risking ingestion of fibers.

2 Understand the Trigger
Observe when and where it happens:
At school or at home?
During homework, in social situations, or in moments of stress?
Is it linked to boredom, anxiety, or a sensory/motor need?
This helps target the cause and anticipate situations.

3 Offer Oral or Motor Regulation Activities
These can fulfill the same need as chewing:
Hard chewable foods (e.g. licorice-type or firm protein bars).
Blowing through a straw or a whistle.
Physical activities: trampoline, jump rope, carrying heavy objects (proprioceptive stimulation).

4 Support Emotional Regulation
If the behavior is related to anxiety:
Practice deep breathing or mindfulness exercises.
Establish a reassuring routine.
Use an emotion journal or communication cards so the child can express their needs differently.

5 Talk with the Child (if possible)
Ask open, non-judgmental questions:
“Do you know why you like chewing on your sleeves?”
“Does it help when you're upset or trying to concentrate?”
This encourages self-awareness and independence.

6 Work as a Team
Involve teachers if the behavior is frequent at school (they may need to adapt the sensory environment).
Consult an occupational therapist to assess the child's sensory profile and create a personalized plan.

01/05/2025

The Need for Some Children to Chew or Suck on Their Clothes

The need for some children to chew or suck on their clothes (such as sleeves, collars, or drawstrings) is quite common and can have several causes, often related to sensory, emotional, or neurological development. Here are the main reasons:

1. Sensory Needs
Some children have unique sensory profiles and seek oral sensations to help regulate themselves. Chewing provides proprioceptive input (pressure in the mouth), which can:
• calm them during stress or anxiety,
• help them focus,
• regulate oral hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity.

This is often seen in children with sensory processing disorder, and sometimes in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ADHD.

2. Emotion Regulation (Anxiety, Stress, Boredom)
Chewing can serve as a self-soothing mechanism. Just as some adults bite their nails or chew on pens, children may find comfort in chewing their clothes when they are:
• stressed,
• anxious,
• frustrated,
• or simply bored.

3. Habit or Learned Behavior
Sometimes, this behavior begins in early childhood (a normal oral phase) and continues out of habit, especially if it has been unconsciously reinforced—for example, if it attracts attention or genuinely helps relieve discomfort.

4. Medical or Neurodevelopmental Causes
In some cases, chewing may be a symptom of an underlying condition, such as:
• ADHD (a need for movement or stimulation),
• ASD,
• developmental delays or disorders,
• or anxiety disorders.

What to Do if a Child Chews on Their Clothes
• Observe when it happens (during stress? while focusing? when bored?).
• Offer alternatives like a chewable necklace or oral sensory toy.
• Consult an occupational therapist specialized in sensory integration, especially if the behavior interferes with daily life or learning.
• Avoid scolding, as this behavior is often a form of self-regulation.

06/11/2023

Reflux peaks, we can't take it anymore!!!!
But why the peaks???
At every major milestone in a baby's life, reflux sometimes comes back very strongly (crawling, walking, teething, colds, sore throats, constipation phases...). So, sometimes you need to adjust the treatment quantities to get through these phases (increase PPIs, add a gastric bandage, etc.).

It's a normal phenomenon! The stomach produces the acidity it needs to handle excess saliva or other issues, and in our babies with reflux, we need to help the stomach regulate it better. In addition to acid production, as soon as the baby starts crawling or doing a bit of exercise, the little stomach, which is somewhat delicate, tends to return everything depending on the baby's position!

So, it feels like a relapse, but no, it's the baby growing! You need to quickly adjust the settings to move forward! (appropriate food, ongoing natural treatment, and more...).

06/11/2023

"Why do I feel so lonely and abandoned when my child is suffering?

I believe it is important to address this issue because the majority of parents of children with GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) feel abandoned by the medical community.

To be able to answer this question, I have spent several hours and nights researching everything I could find in the field of medicine about this.

I wanted to understand, understand why we were not listened to, helped... Why I was made to appear as an overly anxious, crazy, incompetent mother, and so on, even to the point of being told that my son's problem was due to my anxiety.

To all of this, I say NO! I am not crazy, and yes, I am stressed like any mother of a newborn! It is not my anxiety that triggers my son's reflux!

After all, these little ones don't come with an instruction manual, let alone a warning label that says "Beware of reflux!"

So, dear mothers and fathers who have encountered closed doors in the medical field, who cannot get tests or remedies... This is partly why!

In the medical training given to students, there is a World care scale that must be followed.

In a consultation for a reflux issue, the doctor should go through several phases (as many consultations on your part):

Phase 1: Reassure the parents

Recommend a change in milk, thickening, diversification

Phase 2: Provide further advice or dietary changes

Discuss changes in sleeping positions and elevation

Phase 3: Consider medication

Phase 4: Consider more in-depth examinations (pH monitoring, upper endoscopy)

The medical community is slow to initiate these examinations because we all know that they are challenging for very young children. Some practitioners even say that it is very difficult to detect abnormalities during ultrasound or other imaging, and real specialists are rare and often in high demand.

That's why it's so difficult to make ourselves heard, and unfortunately, when you find a doctor who listens to you and realizes that phases 1 and 2 have already been tried by parents, it has been weeks or even months since the problem persisted, and often the baby is already suffering from esophagitis...

You will have understood that the lack of medical studies on infant GERD and the application of a World care scale that requires a good update lead to this feeling of abandonment for affected parents.

I remain convinced that certain tests should be carried out promptly to rule out certain causes, such as checking for hiatal hernia, cardia insufficiency, stomach folding, and pyloric stenosis... This would allow for immediate consideration of dietary modifications that could relieve the baby.

Doctors should also have the reflex to recommend the avoidance of dairy products (CMP) more quickly, as our children are becoming increasingly intolerant or allergic, which can cause or worsen reflux.

Reflux is still considered too benign and something that "will pass" as the child grows.

We need to help parents get through this phase that can last for several years, and it is unthinkable, in my opinion, to let children and parents suffer just because "it will pass!"

Let's stop giving false hope to parents, "It will pass with walking or sitting" because all children are different, and there is no exact timeframe for the disappearance of reflux.

The goal is to relieve babies and improve the daily lives of parents until time takes its course.

The medical community must understand that parents, beyond the stress and physical and emotional fatigue, have already analyzed the situation and need help and concrete actions!

Let's not give up the fight, stop blaming parents, and we will eventually be heard by the medical community! There are solutions to improve the lives of GERD babies, so get your stethoscopes ready!"

06/11/2023

Helping book!

How I made my GERD baby sleep: Baby with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (English Edition)

Having a baby with internal or external Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is having a baby that has great difficulty falling asleep and sleeping.
After choking while sleeping with his reflux, we engaged a real arm-wrestling between the RGO, baby, and sleep.



Amazon Kindle format and in paperback version here :

https://a.co/d/7d5gwZv

06/11/2023

Welcome to my English page!
All my articles from www.bebergo.fr will be translated into English, do not hesitate to ask me for a translation!

bébé reflux rgo conseil pour avancer positivement

06/11/2023

Let's talk about milk!