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Baby Gas Pain

Particularly in the first months of life, infants commonly suffer from gas pain. Knowing your baby is in discomfort and being unable to soothe him can be extremely frustrating and even frightening, especially for new parents. Learning how to identify your baby's source of discomfort and techniques to relieve and prevent her pain can help avoid reoccurring problems.

  1. Symptoms

    • A baby suffering from gas pain may have any of the following symptoms: excessive crying, screaming, pulling legs up, an enlarged or distended abdomen, passing gas and fussiness.

    Colic

    • Colic is a period of non-stop crying, and gas can be one cause of colic. The two, however, are not the same.

    Diet

    • If you think your baby is suffering from gas pain and you are breastfeeding, eliminate irritating foods from your diet. Milk products, caffeine, onions and cabbage are possible irritants. If your baby is bottle-fed, try a different formula, perhaps one that is hypoallergenic. Gas can also be a symptom of lactose intolerance, so you may want to try a lactose-free formula.

    Prevention

    • If your baby has a tendency to suffer from gas pain, prevent it by ensuring he takes in less air. If you breastfeed, sit up during feedings instead of lying down. If you bottle feed, hold your baby at a 30-degree angle and try burping him in the middle of the feeding. Try changing nipple types or bottles. There are several different types of bottles that might help reduce the chances your baby will suffer from gas pain.

    Treatments/Solutions

    • Try walking your baby in a carrier, rocking him, running a vacuum near his room or laying him on his tummy across your knees to soothe his discomfort. Repetitions of alternating between massaging his tummy in clockwise circles and pressing his knees to his abdomen can help eliminate gas pain.

    When to Call the Doctor

    • Call your pediatrician if your baby can't pass gas or you can can't reduce his discomfort by using any of these strategies. If he runs a fever or has blood in his dirty diapers, call your doctor immediately.

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