Baby Cereal For Reflux

Children with dysphagia or gastroesophageal reflux for example may need their food to be thicker in order to swallow safely or reduce reflux.

Baby cereal for reflux.

However some doctors recommend using cereal to thicken the formula or expressed breastmilk of a baby with reflux before the age of 6 months in an attempt to keep the milk down. The thickened formula will make the stomach contents. One of these modifications includes adding rice cereal to your infant s bottle. Babies with severe reflux may require medication or other medical intervention but simple dietary or lifestyle modifications can reduce many acid reflux symptoms.

Because of the possible arsenic exposure with rice cereal experts believe oatmeal is the safer choice. It s also wheat free so won t irritate your baby s stomach if she is sensitive or allergic to gluten. In the past rice cereal was the most frequently recommended option for helping babies to deal with reflux since it has always been viewed as milder and less allergenic. In response to concerns over arsenic in rice the american academy of pediatrics aap now recommends parents of children with these conditions use oatmeal instead of rice cereal.

Whilst there is not a huge amount of evidence that this really helps doctors often prefer parents to try this before prescribing any kind of medication.