Newborn Baby Throwing Up After Drinking Formula. What Is Wrong?

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  • Post last modified:December 9, 2020

Mom’s Question:

My baby is drinking about 3 oz/feeding. She throws up and gasps like she can’t breathe well. She also coughs and chokes. What’s wrong with her? She’s 3 days old.

Baby Helpline:

Tips When Newborn Baby Chokes On Formula

Poor girl! Here are a few possible reasons and what to do:

  • Could it be that the teat hole is too big so that the milk flows too fast for her? To test this, turn the full bottle upside down without shaking. If the milk flows instead of drips, the teat hole is too large. Try a teat with a slightly smaller hole and see if it helps.
  • If the teat hole is not an issue, it can also be that she has some degree of acid reflux, which is when the stomach fluid travels back into the throat too easily. This is quite common among young babies and even more so among preemies. You can try to feed your baby in a more upright position and with less formula at each feeding and see if it helps. (You need to feed your baby more frequently if you cut down the amount she received at each feeding.) If she continues to spit up very frequently, discuss acid reflux with her doctor. In most cases, (except for the very severe cases, when the baby is in serious pain or not thriving), no medication is needed.
  • Since your little girl is only three days old, it may also be that she simply hasn’t really got a hang on how to drink from a bottle yet. (Much like the latching on issues for a breastfed baby.) Try not to worry, provide a calm environment, skin and eye contact, and try to feed her before she is starving and furious – not many babies manage to eat properly when upset.

If none of this helps, get back to me. (And congratulations on your daughter!)
Paula

More Babies Gasping Or Throwing Up

Find comments below.

Comments for “Baby Throwing Up After Drinking the Bottle”

June 19, 2010THROW UP

by: Anonymous


my 1 month old throws up at night it looks like pasty white,dry??????

Jun 23, 2010I had that problem too

by: Candace


When my daughter was born I tried nursing her and everytime I nursed her she would throw up and start screaming. I was very conscious of my diet so I knew it wasn’t anything I was eating that was causing this problem. The doctor told me to try her on formula. We tried several formulas with the same results. Finally he put her on a soy based formula. She was apparently lactose intolerant. My grandson had a similar problem. I know there is now a formula out there that is for sensitive stomachs but I can’t remember the name of it. I would suggest seeing if changing formulas helps.

Oct 14, 2010throwing up

by: ann


My baby will be 4months old on soon and I am concerned about the amount of times he throws up after feeding. when breast fed he throws up very little but formula feeds he throws 5 to 6 times.

Should I be concern or is it nothing to worry about?

Dec 06, 2010throwing up

by: mom


I have a preemie baby, he is 2 month corrected age but for some reason he throws up I will say 5-6 times a day. We tried different kinds of formula but it doesn’t seems to be working, and for some reason it’s only when he is on powder formula. Can someone tell me what to do because everyone is telling me that it is acid reflux. I really need help no medication worked so far.

Jan 21, 2011throwing up

by: Anonymous


My baby is almost 4 months now and is also throwing up some days.i have been speaking to health visitors and they recommended to cange his milk formula. i did but he is still throwing up. when he throws up it will sometimes be a brown colour. is that normal?

May 07, 2011change the formula
by: Josweet2


been there… bb was fine with similac for first 6wks, then became constipated with it n also throwing up. so i switched to isomil and he was fine with it for a week, then started throwing up again after that. he also had lots of phlegm. what was i to do? he’s already on a soy base milk. something prompted me to change his milk again, so i got him another soy formula- wyeth nursoy and every symptom disappeard within 48hrs! So different brands of soy formula has different effects..

Jun 14, 2011What to do???

by: shasha 30


my daughter is 1mo. and everytime after she drinks a bottle to throws up.. I’m getting nerves bc I don’t know what’s wrong with her. i feel like i don’t want to give her a bottle bc she might throw it up.. For the first 3wks i was breast feeding, but then stopped bc i thought she had to much gas.. (wrong mistake) i try to give her the breast now but i think my milk is running out. so i just give her the bottle.. I use enfamil, i wonder if i should take her to her dr or if it’s not that serious…

Jun 18, 2011Shasha 30

by: Anonymous


shasha 30 I would try to drink Mothers milk tea…This is a wonderful help to increase milk supply. Maybe it is not to late. The gas issue is manageable especially if you can massage her knees up to her tummy. the spitting up is not as manageable. Hopefully it is not to late but if it is try switching to a soy based formula. Good luck

Aug 12, 2011throwing up

by: Anonymous


I’ve tried gripe water – alcohol free and it works most times. Also tried feeding in a sitting position so that the baby is in a chair like position on cannot guzzle the formula. Constant diligence is the only thing that has worked to battle the throw ups and the gas. In my experience the throwing up has been related to bouts of gas.

Aug 19, 2011becoming a huge concern
by: Anonymous


My baby is 7wks.every since birth she hasnt held a bottle down.she throw up after EVERY single bottle.its really getting stressful and it effects our everyday life.doctors doesnt seem to be taking it serious because they think its jus spit up…..but this is throwing up,she be gagging like a grown person.i stressed so i kno my poor lil girl is tired of throwing up.and its not only milk.every thing she drink (water) comes back up.

Aug 20, 2011poor baby….can someone help me…

by: Anonymous


Everytime I bottle feed my baby, he chokes and coughs a lot. I tried feeding him upright, the nipples on the bottle are the slow type…..and he has a hard time to take his breath when he chokes and coughs. I’m very scared every time i feed him. He seems congested everytime he’s done drinking his formula. He takes Nutramigen. Does anyone know what he might have….Thanks

Aug 31, 20112 months
by: Kelli


My daughter is 2 months old and she has the same problem, even though she doesnt throw up on every bottle but when she does its volatile and she throws it all up the docters have said its normal but now she had threw water up 3 times in the past few weeks and we havent even give her water.

Any ideas?

Sep 19, 2011 Baby throws up after every feeding

by: Anonymous


i have a 3 month old son that throws up everytime i feed him i have changed the formula 3 times already now his drinking soy formula is and nothing has changed should i be worried?

Sep 20, 2011If your baby is choking, gasping while eating

by: Anonymous


If your child is gagging and choking alot while taking a bottle, chances are they have acid reflux and GERD. They are choking because fluid is bubbling up intheir throat, causing their esophagus to tighten so they do aspirate. Nothing to worry about though, all it takes is a trip to your ped, they will put the baby on medication. They also may have you add small amounts of rice cereal to their milk to make it heavier, thus decreasing the regurgitation into their throat. i went through all of that with my one month old. Turns out, GERD and acid reflux is very common!! Good news is, it goes away usually by the time they are 6 months old. Hope this helped!

Jan 07, 2012It’s all trial & error

by: Anonymous


My 2mo. old son has had a problem with spitting up since he was put on formula at 4 weeks. I say spitting up but it’s more like vomiting after every bottle or every time I burp him. There are times when he sounds like he is gasping for air. I have tried switching formulas…that made him constipated so I tried putting rice in his bottle…still throws it up. The doctor put him on Zantac which helped a little but it seems like nothiung is working?? Should I switch to a soy based formula? He’s gassy, hates being burped, but other than that is a great baby. What should I do any suggestions??

Jan 18, 2012Suggestion

by: Anonymous


I have several suggestions:

1) Check the type of bottle that you are using. Some are better at preventing air ingestion, meaning the baby dosent swallow so much air when drinking.

2) Check the bottle nipple, make sure its not too big and is right for her age category. Plus, the shape of the nipple also helps, I prefer NUK myself.

3) CHeck the formula that you are using. Some are for fussy babies, so that might be what you want to use?

4) No matter how much I burped my baby, I couldnt get him to do it yet his dad could do it in 5 seconds, I guess it was cause he had bigger shoulders. So make sure that your baby is properly burped.

Jan 18, 2012baby throwing up

by: Anonymous


My baby boy was the same when he was born. He had acid reflux and my Ped prescribed him zantac at first and it did not work. Then he gave him nexium and it work. Good luck !!!

Jan 20, 2012Burp between feedings to minimize choking gagging puking
by: Anonymous


Hi,
my baby is one month old today…
She chokes and gag too…

I find burping her in the middle of her feeding helps. Stop 2 – 3 times in the middle of feeding to burp your baby so she doesn’t choke easily or throw up a bottle. It takes longer time to feed, but it’s better for the baby. Young babies choke and gagged or throw up easier than older babies because they are still unable to adjust their breathing while drinking nor are they able to pace themselves well on their drinking rhythm… I personally prefer old school way than simply feeding my young baby with meds (zantac, neixum)… no matter how safe doctor says it is for the baby, they’re still meds nonetheless.
Good Luck mothers!

Cheers.
K’s mommy

Jan 22, 2012to anonymous @ baby throwing up

by: patti


My baby is now 4 months old. He has been put on 5 different formulas for acid reflux. FINALLY the one that works is Nutramagin.(gold can) He was very gassy, fidgety, and cried all of the time with other formula including spitting or projectile throwing up.. He was on rantidine and it never worked, so his GI doctor prescribed him Prevacid 15mg one half tablet (which dissolves in milk) every 12 hours.. He is a totally different baby…

Feb 05, 2012Throws up once a day
by: Melissa


My daughter is a month old today and vomits during or after one bottle feeding every day. I have become so paranoid about it that feeding time has turned into a nightmare!

Her ped. has her on Zantac since she was 15 days old but I don’t see that it’s helping any. We also have a wedge thing in her crib that is supposed to help with acid reflux etc. I’m not sure this is helping any either. We burp her several times during her feedings. We have checked the nipples and they release very slowly.
Does anyone have any other suggestions that may help her problem go away???

Sep 29, 2012A baby that vomits a lot
by: Paula (Baby Help Line)


Hi,

If a baby vomits very much, it can certainly be due to acid reflux. But there may be other explanations as well, such as lactose intolerance, milk protein allergy, pyloric stenosis (a condition that can be fixed with surgery), Laryngomalacia (another condition that grows away) and probably other reasons too.

So if the Zantac doesn’t help your baby, go back to the doctors and discuss other options. And switch to another pediatrician if you don’t receive the help your baby deserves.

You can read the following threads about other babies that throw up a lot and the possible explanation to why it happens here:

I hope this helps,

Paula

Feb 04, 2013I don’t know what to do
by: Anonymous


hey, my baby is two months and She throws up her bottle milk and her breastfeeding milk every time she is done and I don’t know what to do I took her to the hospital and they said I was overfeeding her and I don’t know what to do.

Feb 07, 2013try Similac Alimentum

by: Anonymous


try Similac Alimentum it’s hypoallergenic

Feb 25, 2013Gags and spits up..
by: Week old


I have a question. Baby does great all day, then at night, he spits up after bottles more. A few times he has gagged before spitting/throwing up. What would cause the gagging throw up?


Baby Help Line: It could be due to reflux, if your baby is put down flat on his back to sleep at night after feeding, but not during the day as quickly. Try elevating your baby’s head end of the bed slightly and see if it helps.

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This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. sammy 5 Dec 2013 Reply

    and she was also a premie 4 pounds can that have something to do with it

  2. sammy 5 Dec 2013 Reply

    my 3 month old has been spitting up since she was born and now she projectiles after every ounce i tried her on three kinds of formula im trying her on soy now but its only been thee days but i she will be sitting there choking and gasping for air and it comes out of her nose as well all over her clothes and mine and i took her to the doctor and she did an ultra sound and everything came back normal i dont know what to do i feel so bad for her

  3. vanessa 30 Aug 2013 Reply

    When My daughter was a infant she use to cry every time she takes the bottle and throws up that’s dues to reflex what i did to get her to eat was to put her in a car seat and prop the bottle for her so she can eat better! When infants is gagging or throwing up its best to sit them up instead of laying them down in your arms! Babies with reflex tend to do better eating when they are sitting upword. I also Took her into chiropractor and it saved her life!