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Is it Reflux? Or Normal Spit-Up?

Is it Reflux? Or Normal Spit-Up?

Newborns spit up and cry—this is very normal behavior for these tiny beings that have just entered the world. So normal that 70% of infants spit up on a daily basis and an average infant 1-3 months old can cry up to 3.75 hours per day cry—any new mom knows that this is true. Even though spitting up and crying is considered normal, care givers tend to think their child has GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), and more and more infants are being prescribed reflux medications by their pediatricians, without the proper diagnostic testing. Why isn’t the testing done? It can be

invasive; so many parents don’t want to put their baby through it. But, parents need to keep in mind that these medications have not been tested on infants. On October 20, 2011, The Journal of Pediatrics reported that, "PPIs are not FDA-approved for infants under 12 months of age, and the results of four clinical trials show that these medicines work no better than a placebo in treating infants with reflux. Many doctors have been prescribing them off-label anyway." So which is worse—putting your child on reflux medication hoping that the spit-up stops (though it’s normal behavior) resulting in exposing your baby to the potential side effects, or having your child tested to see if they have true GERD in the first place? Colic Calm would like to put an end to needless medication, and have compiled the following infographic to help do so. They understand that some infants do need reflux medications, but would like parents to see how important it is to have the proper diagnostic testing done on their child before filling the prescription.