Sleeping Positions for Babies with Acid Reflux or GERD

Babies from birth to six months often suf­fer acid reflux or what is med­ically called gas­troe­sophageal reflux or GERD. When babies have acid reflux, they spit up what they have taken into their stom­achs because the valve in their esoph­a­gus that con­nects to the stom­ach is still pre­ma­ture. Ask your pedi­a­tri­cian to deter­mine whether or not your baby has acid reflux. He or she will be able to do tests to be sure about your baby’s con­di­tion. If your baby is hav­ing prob­lems sleep­ing at night because of acid reflux, the fol­low­ing sleep­ing posi­tions are recommended:

Have your baby sleep in a sling or ham­mock. Keep your baby in a sling, wrap, or pouch when he or she is sleep­ing. Since hav­ing them in a sling or wrap means that you have to carry them around, you will have to com­mit to this. If you are unable to do this, you can wear the baby 30 min­utes after you have fed him or her. This will ensure a calm baby and pre­vent acid reflux. You can also try a baby ham­mock that is espe­cially designed for babies suf­fer­ing from acid reflux. These ham­mocks allow the baby’s head and upper body to be ele­vated, which con­trols the acid reflux.

Ele­vate the crib while sleep­ing. Another way to pre­vent acid reflux and sleep­ing prob­lems is to ele­vate your baby’s crib about 30 degrees. This will help cut down acid reflux con­di­tions and regur­gi­ta­tion. Also, have your baby sleep on his or her left side. Dr. Sears rec­om­mends this posi­tion because ele­va­tion allows the stom­ach inlet to be higher than the stom­ach out­let. This will pre­vent any food from being regurgitated.

Have your baby sleep on his or her stom­ach. When babies are in the prone posi­tion, the acid reflux will be min­i­mized. How­ever, be mind­ful that this posi­tion is believed to be the cause of sud­den infant death syn­drome, so con­sult a pedi­a­tri­cian when you are think­ing about this alter­na­tive. There are also reflux wedges avail­able in the mar­ket today which allows you baby to sleep on his or her stom­ach at an angle. This will help alle­vi­ate the dis­com­fort of acid reflux and have the baby sleep­ing soundly.