Symptoms and remedies for silent reflux in babies

Any parent whose newborn has suffered from reflux knows the helplessness of trying to comfort an infant who hurts after each feeding. Babies with reflux may be irritable, spit up or refuse to eat. They arch their bodies during or after feedings, or cry when placed on their backs, especially if they just ate. But sometimes the most obvious symptoms don’t show up—this is known as “silent reflux.”

Regular reflux occurs when food and digestive acid leaks up from the stomach, causing painful irritation in the esophagus. But silent reflux in babies might not spit up at all, swallowing the regurgitated liquid instead. Some babies with regular reflux lose weight, but babies with silent reflux can gain weight normally, despite being in pain.

What are the symptoms of reflux in babies?

Emily Parks, a Halifax mom, knows this first-hand. Initially, she and her husband thought they simply had a high-needs baby who cried a lot and never wanted to be set down. But Parks soon began to suspect something else was going on.

“I noticed he was making a lot of choking and gagging noises immediately after feeding,” she says. “And his screaming seemed to indicate really acute pain.” Parks’ experience is a classic case of silent reflux, says Catherine Pound, a paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

“An infant’s symptoms could include a hoarse voice, a chronic cough, pauses in his or her breathing, or asthma-like symptoms.” Other telltale signs are gagging and choking, throat irritation, sour breath, a constant runny nose and wheezing. Severe reflux that continues for more than a few months can cause damage to the infant’s esophagus, stomach and throat.

Pound explains that babies are susceptible to reflux—silent or otherwise—because they spend a lot of time lying down, their diet is mostly liquid and their muscle tone, including the muscle tone of the sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus, is less developed.

What's the best way to relieve my baby's reflux?

While some doctors may still recommend placing a towel under the crib mattress or a wedge under the crib sheet, in 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics published a report stating that elevating the head of the crib is not effective in reducing reflux.

"It may result in the infant sliding to the foot of the crib into a position that may compromise respiration and therefore is not recommended," the report states. The risk of SIDS outweighs the benefits of allowing your baby to sleep on his stomach or side.

Your doctor may also recommend thickening agents to mix with formula or breastmilk, and might prescribe a medication to reduce stomach acidity. But time may be the best medicine of all, as reflux sometimes clears up after the first several weeks, once your baby’s muscle tone increases, and he starts spending more time sitting up, then standing, and eventually eating solids.

“Between six and eight weeks it started to get better,” says Parks. “By then he slept in his bassinet for a few hours each night, which gave me a bit of sanity to get through it.” By four months, his reflux symptoms had disappeared, without medication. “We were lucky. It cleared up on its own.”

You may want to try a gripe belt

While gripe water and baby gas relief measures come with mixed reviews, many parents swear by gripe belts during their babies awake hours. Doctors caution against letting babies sleep in these, so take note. They work by encouraging baby to use their abdominal muscles, pushing gas and acid into place in a more natural way than just snoozing or sitting in a stroller might.

The best part? These fun toys offer plenty of engagement and sensory stimulation.

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