Most baby hiccups stop on their own within 5 to 10 minutes and don’t need any intervention at all. Hiccups are extremely common in newborns and young infants, often happening multiple times a day, and they almost never signal a problem. That said, a few simple techniques can help move things along if your baby seems uncomfortable, and some feeding adjustments can make hiccups less frequent in the first place.
Why Babies Hiccup So Often
A hiccup is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle beneath the lungs that controls breathing. When it contracts suddenly, the vocal cords snap shut, producing that familiar “hic” sound. Babies hiccup far more than adults because their digestive systems and nervous systems are still maturing. Swallowed air during feeding is the most common trigger, but quick temperature changes and overfeeding can set off a bout too.
Interestingly, hiccups may actually serve a purpose. Researchers at University College London found that each diaphragm contraction during a hiccup triggers a pronounced response in the baby’s brain cortex, producing two large brainwaves followed by a third. The team believes this feedback loop helps the developing brain learn to monitor and eventually control the breathing muscles voluntarily. In other words, those annoying little spasms may be part of how your baby’s brain figures out how to regulate breathing. Even babies in the womb hiccup regularly, starting as early as nine weeks of gestation.
What Actually Helps Stop Hiccups
If your baby is hiccupping and seems unbothered, the best approach is simply to wait. Most bouts resolve within a few minutes on their own. But if the hiccups are interrupting a feeding or making your baby fussy, try these techniques:
- Pause and burp. Stop the feeding, hold your baby upright against your shoulder, and gently pat or rub their back. The pause and position change alone can slow gulping and reduce the amount of swallowed air. For bottle-fed babies, burp after every 2 to 3 ounces (60 to 90 ml).
- Offer a pacifier. Non-nutritive sucking can help relax the diaphragm and calm the spasms. You don’t need to wait for a feeding; a pacifier between meals works fine.
- Hold your baby upright for 10 to 15 minutes after feeding. Gravity helps trapped air rise and escape through a burp rather than triggering more diaphragm irritation.
- Try gentle motion. Rocking or lightly bouncing your baby can shift their focus and relax the diaphragm enough to break the cycle.
How to Prevent Hiccups During Feedings
The single most effective prevention strategy is feeding your baby before they get desperately hungry. A calm, less frantic baby swallows less air. If your baby frequently gets hiccups, watch for early hunger cues like rooting, lip-smacking, or hand-to-mouth movements rather than waiting for full-on crying. Continued fussing during a feeding causes your baby to gulp even more air, which increases discomfort and can lead to spit-up on top of the hiccups.
For bottle-fed babies, keep the bottle tilted so the nipple stays full of milk rather than air. Slow-flow nipples can also help if your baby tends to gulp quickly, though the right flow rate depends on your baby’s age and feeding pace. If you notice a lot of milk leaking from the corners of your baby’s mouth, the flow may be too fast.
Breastfed babies tend to swallow less air overall, but positioning still matters. Make sure your baby has a deep latch and their lips are flanged outward around the areola, not just the nipple tip. If you hear a lot of clicking or smacking sounds during nursing, the latch may be shallow, letting air in with each suck.
What Not to Do
Many traditional hiccup remedies that work fine for adults are unsafe for babies. Never try to startle or scare your baby to stop hiccups. Don’t press on their soft spots, pull their tongue, or cover their mouth and nose. Holding your breath is a go-to adult fix, but obviously a baby can’t do this intentionally, and restricting a baby’s airflow is dangerous.
Gripe water and other over-the-counter “colic” drops are widely marketed for hiccups, but there’s limited evidence they work, and some contain ingredients that aren’t well-regulated. If you’re considering any supplement, check with your pediatrician first. Water alone should never be given to babies under six months, as it can dilute their electrolyte balance.
When Hiccups Could Signal Something Else
Occasional hiccups, even several times a day, are normal throughout the first year. They tend to decrease naturally as your baby’s digestive and nervous systems mature, and most babies hiccup much less frequently by six to twelve months of age.
Rarely, persistent or very frequent hiccups can be associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The key difference is that reflux-related hiccups come bundled with other symptoms. Watch for arching of the back during or after feedings, frequent forceful vomiting (not just spit-up), choking or gagging during feeds, refusing to eat or loss of appetite, irritability that gets worse with regurgitation, poor weight gain, and a persistent cough or wheezing. Any combination of these alongside frequent hiccups is worth bringing up with your pediatrician. Isolated hiccups, even if they happen every day, are almost always just a normal part of being a baby.