breastfeeding with reflux

[gracie05jayden08]

hi my little man is 3mth and diagnosed with reflux at 7wks and used losec ( 1 tablet dissolved in 5ml water give him 2mls) ever since but still really struggles with the pain. some days are worse than others but no one likes their baby suffering. I'm breastfeeding and would love to continue but am concerned it is what i eat that effects him. what should you eat for reflux baby? i dont eat citric fruit or tomato or onion or colliflower or beans but dont know what it could be. should i just put him on formula?

[RISA]

Hiya Gracie05Jayden08

Sorry to hear you're having troubles with your little guy & reflux. It can be very tricky to deal with an unsettled baby, particularly when you have other children to care for. I hope you have some good family support.

Good on you for considering your diet during breastfeeding. It can be hard to work out exactly what is affecting your baby so it can be handy to keep a diary of your diet and his feeds to see if there is a pattern. For some reason there are quite a number of reflux babies who are sensitive to milk & soy so I would trial taking them completely out of your diet. You will need to consider a calcium supplement and use rice milk or oat milk as an alternative. You will find these in the long-life section of your supermarket. They may not be as tasty as regular milk but in coffee or tea it's acceptable. When trying a dairy free diet it's important to read the labels on everything you eat and of course cut out cheese, yoghurt, icecream etc. There are some lovely biscuits & cakes which are dairy free so it doesn't mean you'll have no treats, but it won't be easy. Some people will see a difference in a week but it can take a couple of weeks for the milk proteins to completely leave your system so try and stick it out for 2 weeks and keep a diary so you can see if there is an improvement. Please note that lactose free milks won't do as it is the protein that babies can be sensitive to. Also, simply cutting down on milk isn't likely to produce much improvement, it needs to be completely eliminated.

Once you have determined if dairy is an issue (you can do a google search on milk protein allergy for heaps of information) you can decide whether you can continue to modify your diet in order to breastfeed successfully, or whether you wish to switch to formula. Only you will know what's right for you. Some formulas have the proteins partially broken down and are easier for babies to digest (ask your chemist) but sometimes babies will need prescription formula with the proteins completely broken down.

At RISA we have an online support group where many of the babies have milk protein issues. Some mums have gone to formula and some are persisting with breastfeeding. If you wish to chat to other mums, please consider membership with RISA at www.reflux.org.au .

If you decide that you need some more help with reflux, you can also ask for a referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist who specialises in babies & children's gut issues, but they will often ask you to try the dairy free thing first anyway, so give that some thought.

All the best & let us know if we can help any further

Julie
for RISA Inc