Burping your baby during a bout of hiccups can help by releasing trapped air that may be pushing the stomach against the diaphragm and triggering the spasms. It won’t always stop hiccups instantly, but it addresses one of the most common underlying causes, especially when hiccups start during or right after a feeding. Most episodes resolve on their own within 5 to 10 minutes, but a good burp can speed things along.
Why Hiccups and Trapped Air Are Connected
Hiccups happen when something irritates the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle that sits just below the lungs. When it spasms, the vocal cords clamp shut, producing that familiar “hic” sound. In babies, the most likely trigger is excess gas in the stomach. When babies overfeed or swallow air while eating, the stomach expands and presses against the diaphragm, setting off the spasm cycle.
This is why burping works. Releasing that pocket of air reduces stomach pressure, which in turn eases the irritation on the diaphragm. Babies are especially prone to this because their digestive systems are still maturing and they naturally swallow more air during feedings than older children or adults do.
Three Burping Positions That Work
If your baby starts hiccupping during a feeding, pause the feed and try one of these positions. You don’t need to wait until the feeding is over.
- Over the shoulder: Hold your baby upright with their head resting on your shoulder, supporting their head and back. Gently pat their back with your free hand.
- Sitting on your lap: Sit the baby on your lap facing away from you. Support their chest and head with one hand while patting their back with the other. This position gives you more control and lets you see your baby’s face.
- Face-down on your lap: Lay the baby across your lap with their belly down. Make sure their head is higher than their chest, then gently pat or use a circular rubbing motion on their back.
There’s no single “best” position. Some babies respond well to the shoulder hold, others prefer sitting upright. If one method doesn’t produce a burp after a couple of minutes, switch to another. The key is keeping the baby’s torso upright or slightly angled so gravity helps the air bubble rise.
What to Do If Burping Doesn’t Stop the Hiccups
Sometimes the hiccups aren’t caused by a trapped air bubble, or the burp comes out but the spasms continue anyway. That’s normal. A few other things can help:
Change your baby’s position. Simply shifting from lying down to upright, or from one side to another, can interrupt the spasm pattern and let the diaphragm settle. You can also try letting the baby suck on a pacifier. The rhythmic sucking motion helps relax the diaphragm without introducing more food into the stomach.
What you should avoid: don’t try adult hiccup remedies on a baby. Startling them, pressing on their eyeballs, pulling their tongue, or giving them water are all ineffective and potentially harmful. The safest approach is often just waiting. Hiccups bother parents far more than they bother babies, and most episodes stop on their own without any intervention.
Skip the Gripe Water
Gripe water is a popular over-the-counter remedy that parents often reach for when a baby is gassy or hiccupping. But there’s no scientific evidence that it actually works. None of the typical ingredients in gripe water have been proven to address the root cause of gas or hiccups in infants. The Cleveland Clinic specifically lists burping as a more effective, doctor-approved alternative for relieving a gassy baby. Your hands and a good burping position are genuinely more useful than anything you can buy in a bottle.
Preventing Hiccups Before They Start
Since most infant hiccups trace back to air swallowing and stomach distension during feeds, a few adjustments to your feeding routine can reduce how often they happen.
Burp your baby at natural pauses, not just at the end. For bottle-fed babies, burp after every 2 to 3 ounces. For breastfed babies, burp when you switch breasts. This keeps air from building up in the stomach over the course of a full feeding. If you’re bottle feeding, tilt the bottle so milk completely fills the nipple, which prevents your baby from sucking in air along with formula. A slow-flow nipple can also help if your baby tends to gulp quickly.
Overfeeding is another common trigger. Smaller, more frequent feedings put less pressure on the stomach than larger, spaced-out ones. If your baby seems to hiccup after almost every meal, reducing the volume slightly and feeding more often is worth trying.
When Hiccups Signal Something Else
Occasional hiccups are completely normal in babies under a year old. Most infants hiccup multiple times a day, and the frequency typically decreases as they get older. But frequent hiccups combined with other symptoms can point to gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.
Watch for hiccups that come alongside frequent vomiting, gagging or choking during feeds, coughing fits (especially at night), fussiness around mealtimes, or refusal to eat. Mild reflux is extremely common in babies under 2 and usually isn’t a concern. It crosses into GERD territory when symptoms interfere with feeding, cause poor weight gain, or persist beyond 12 to 14 months of age. If your baby’s hiccups are part of a pattern that includes several of these signs, it’s worth bringing up at your next pediatric visit.