Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Baby doing strange choking noise when lying on back.

8 replies

CuppaTeaJanice · 07/11/2011 09:16

My DD is 6 days old and BF. She seems to be doing really well with the feeding so far, but I find when I lay her down on her back afterwards (sometimes half an hour or more after) she occasionally makes strange choking sounds like she can't breathe or has something stuck in her throat. The only way I can describe it is like that throaty, clicking sound that cats make when they are trying to hoik up a furball, but a bit quieter.

I do burp her after each feed and she does bring up wind, but she also farts loads so maybe not all the gases are escaping. When she does the choking thing I sit her up and rub her back quite vigorously, which seems to bring up either a burp or a small amount of foamy milky spit.

Has anybody else come across this with their baby? At the moment we're co-sleeping with her lying on her side as I'm scared I won't hear her if she starts choking when I'm asleep, but I don't want to do this long term.

Any advice please? Smile

OP posts:
Deliaskis · 07/11/2011 10:00

DD did something similar for about the first month of her life. It's terrifying isn't it? It never actually amounted to anything though.

The only thing is, that she was later (at about 7-8 weeks) diagnosed with silent reflux - that's not the one where they throw up a lot, but where contents of the stomach (including stomach acid, which can be painful) come up their throat and make them gag a bit, but don't actually end up being vomited out. It's usually caused by the muscle at the entrance to the stomach not being strong enough in young babies to kind of 'close' and keep everything down. It's particularly bad when lying down as obviously gravity isn't helping out then either.

It might be completely unrelated, but looking back, I always wonder if it was an early symptom, as it did kind of sound like she might have been gagging a little bit on milk in her throat, in her sleep.

Don't want to worry you tho, as it might be nothing to do with it, but do keep an eye out, as silent reflux can be painful, but can usually be well-managed with the right medication.

FWIW, even if it was not related to reflux, in our case it never amounted to any scary actual choking/not breathing type panics or anything.

D

buttonmoon78 · 07/11/2011 10:18

I second everything Delia says. Keep an eye out for reflux symptoms or anything which might indicate silent reflux. Mention it to your MW, and then to your HV.

Oh, and congratulations!

Original poster
CuppaTeaJanice · 07/11/2011 10:47

Thankyou, it's good to know what to look out for. Is it a bit like heartburn (know plenty about that recently!!)?

Did you still put your DCs to sleep on their backs? DD seems much happier (and no choking) on her side, but I know that goes against SIDS advice.

OP posts:
buttonmoon78 · 07/11/2011 10:53

It is exactly like heartburn so if some idiot dr tells you it won't hurt them (like one did to us) then tell him he's wrong after you've punched him.

I put ds to sleep on his side too.

TheGhostOfMrsWembley · 07/11/2011 10:58

My DS did exactly the same thing for the first month or so. Yes, it's terrifying at first, then you become blasé about it because it happens so often, then you get worried that one time it might actually be serious!

Oh, and I don't like putting him on his side, never did especially as a newborn, but since he's been able to do it himself that's how he sleeps.

TheGhostOfMrsWembley · 07/11/2011 10:59

And forgot to mention, my hv said it was very common, she'd seen it a lot.Smile

legallyblond · 07/11/2011 12:06

DD did this a lot. We got scared when she was 3 weeks old and took her to A and E. The lovely paediatrician said it was reflux, even though DD had no other symptoms (fantastic weight gain, no vomiting etc). Apparently almost all babies have it to a greater or lesser extent and it is easily missed! She told us to keep DD upright (up onmy shoulder) for about 10 mins after each feed and also use bed blocks to prop her bed up. She also reassured me that DD wouldn't actually choke... We did what she said and, although DD still did it for a couple of months, she eventually just grew out of it and her reflux never got worse. As she got older, DD automatically rolled onto her side to sleep.

She's now 13 months and its a distant memory - you have remindede me!

Its scary, but nothing to worry about!!!

imverynosey · 04/09/2024 23:09

CuppaTeaJanice · 07/11/2011 09:16

My DD is 6 days old and BF. She seems to be doing really well with the feeding so far, but I find when I lay her down on her back afterwards (sometimes half an hour or more after) she occasionally makes strange choking sounds like she can't breathe or has something stuck in her throat. The only way I can describe it is like that throaty, clicking sound that cats make when they are trying to hoik up a furball, but a bit quieter.

I do burp her after each feed and she does bring up wind, but she also farts loads so maybe not all the gases are escaping. When she does the choking thing I sit her up and rub her back quite vigorously, which seems to bring up either a burp or a small amount of foamy milky spit.

Has anybody else come across this with their baby? At the moment we're co-sleeping with her lying on her side as I'm scared I won't hear her if she starts choking when I'm asleep, but I don't want to do this long term.

Any advice please? Smile

I know this was 13 years ago almost but going g through the same thing g now!!!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page