Newborns and young babies hiccup a lot. Sometimes several times a day. Sometimes for 20 minutes at a stretch. They hiccupped in the womb — many mothers noticed rhythmic movements during pregnancy that were actually foetal hiccups. This frequency of hiccupping is completely normal in early infancy and decreases naturally as the nervous system matures. Understanding why it happens reduces the anxiety significantly.
Why Babies Hiccup So Frequently
Hiccups are caused by spasms of the diaphragm — the dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen and controls breathing. In adults, the neurological control of the diaphragm is well-established and diaphragm spasms are relatively uncommon. In newborns and young babies, the nervous system and specifically the phrenic nerve that controls the diaphragm is immature. The diaphragm is easily triggered into spasm by a variety of stimuli: swallowing air during feeding, rapid feeding, overfull stomach, temperature change, and sometimes without any identifiable trigger.
Do Hiccups Bother Your Baby?
This is the most important question and the answer, for most babies, is no. Despite looking uncomfortable from the outside, hiccups in young babies are generally not distressing to the baby. If your baby is hiccupping and seems perfectly content — feeding, looking around, not crying — the hiccups do not need treatment. They will resolve on their own within a few minutes to 20 minutes in most cases. Intervention is appropriate primarily when hiccups seem to be causing distress or when they are interfering with feeding.
What Actually Helps
The most effective interventions are those that interrupt the diaphragm spasm or reduce the trigger. A brief pause in feeding followed by burping is the most reliable — the burp releases swallowed air that was filling the stomach and pressing on the diaphragm. Offering a breast or dummy for the sucking action — the rhythmic sucking and swallowing motion can interrupt the hiccup cycle. A small sip of water for babies over 6 months can sometimes break the cycle. Skin-to-skin contact has a calming effect on the nervous system that can reduce hiccup frequency.
Traditional Indian Remedies: What Works and What to Skip
Sugar on the tongue — a small amount of sugar dissolved in water given to babies over 6 months has some evidence for interrupting hiccups, possibly through a reflex mechanism. The traditional Indian practice of a small amount of jaggery water may work through this mechanism. Ghee — a small amount of ghee offered on a spoon is a common Indian remedy; ghee has a coating effect on the throat that may help. Breast milk or formula offered briefly — works through the sucking mechanism described above.
Skip anything that involves scaring the baby, covering the nose and mouth (even briefly), pressing on the throat, or any practice that could compromise the airway. These are ineffective and potentially dangerous. Ignore advice to give hing water orally to babies under 6 months.