Newborn gas is one of the most common reasons babies cry, and most of the time it resolves with simple hands-on techniques you can do at home. Your baby’s digestive system is brand new. After nine months developing in fluid, newborns have zero experience processing air, and their gut bacteria are just starting to colonize. As bacteria break down undigested milk in the intestines, they produce gas as a byproduct. The result: a baby who desperately needs to pass gas but hasn’t yet figured out how.
Why Newborns Are So Gassy
Babies swallow air every time they cry, feed, or even suck on a pacifier. Some of that air comes back up as a burp, but the rest travels into the intestines. In the first few days of life, passing gas is actually a good sign that the gut is “waking up.” The problem isn’t that gas exists. It’s that young babies are bad at moving it through and out. Their abdominal muscles are weak, they spend most of their time on their backs, and the sensation of gas pressure is completely unfamiliar to them, which makes them cry, which makes them swallow more air.
Belly Massage for Gas Relief
Gentle abdominal massage is one of the most effective things you can try, and it costs nothing. The goal is to physically help gas move through the intestines in the direction it naturally travels: from your baby’s right side, across the top of the belly, and down the left side.
The “I Love You” technique follows that path. With your baby lying face-up, use two or three fingers with gentle, steady pressure:
- I: Stroke straight down on the left side of your baby’s belly (your right as you face them).
- Love: Draw an upside-down “L,” stroking across the belly from your left to right, then down.
- You: Draw an upside-down “U,” starting low on your left, going up, across the top of the belly, and down the left side.
Repeat this sequence several times. You can say “I love you” as you go, which helps you remember the pattern and keeps your baby calm with your voice.
Another reliable technique is the knee-to-tummy press. Place your hands on your baby’s calves just below the knees, gently push both legs together toward the belly, hold for three to five seconds, then release. Repeat three to five times. This compresses the intestines and helps trapped gas escape. You’ll often hear results almost immediately.
Bicycle Legs and Tummy Time
Laying your baby on their back and gently cycling their legs in a pedaling motion works on the same principle as the knee press, but with continuous movement. Alternate pushing each leg toward the belly in a slow, smooth rhythm. Many parents find this works best about 15 to 20 minutes after a feeding.
Tummy time serves double duty. The pressure of lying stomach-down naturally helps push gas through the intestines. Even a few minutes of supervised tummy time several times a day can reduce gas buildup while also strengthening your baby’s neck and shoulder muscles.
Better Burping Positions
Most parents know to burp their baby, but position matters more than you might think. The classic over-the-shoulder hold works, but if your baby is a stubborn burper, try sitting them upright on your lap with one hand supporting their chin and chest. Let them lean forward slightly at the waist. This upright posture moves air to the top of the stomach, while the gentle forward lean puts just enough pressure on the stomach to eject it. Pat or rub the back with your free hand.
Try burping midway through a feeding, not just at the end. If you’re bottle feeding, pause every ounce or two. If you’re breastfeeding, burp when you switch sides. Catching air early prevents it from traveling deeper into the digestive tract where it becomes harder to release.
How You Feed Matters
The way milk enters your baby’s mouth has a direct effect on how much air goes with it. For bottle-fed babies, a technique called paced feeding significantly reduces air swallowing. Use a slow-flow nipple so your baby controls the pace rather than gulping to keep up. Hold the bottle mostly horizontal, tipping it just enough to keep milk in the nipple. As the feed progresses and the bottle empties, gradually tilt the bottle more upright. Keep your baby’s head and neck in a straight line rather than letting them slump or tilt their chin down.
For breastfed babies, a deep latch is key. If you hear clicking or smacking sounds during feeding, your baby is likely breaking the seal and swallowing air. A lactation consultant can help correct latch issues if you’re struggling.
Does Your Diet Affect a Breastfed Baby’s Gas?
This is one of the most persistent beliefs in parenting, and the evidence doesn’t support it for most babies. What you eat does not cause gas in your breastfed baby in the vast majority of cases. The idea that broccoli, beans, or spicy food passes through breast milk and makes babies gassy is largely a myth.
The exception is a true food allergy or sensitivity, most commonly to dairy protein in the mother’s diet. Only about 3% of exclusively breastfed babies have this issue, and it typically shows up with other symptoms beyond gas, like mucus or blood in the stool, skin rashes, or significant fussiness after every feeding. If you consistently notice your baby seems worse after you eat a specific food, it’s reasonable to eliminate that food for a few days and see if things improve. But a wholesale diet overhaul is rarely necessary.
Formula Adjustments
If your baby is formula-fed and consistently gassy, the formula composition may play a role. Standard formulas use intact cow’s milk protein, which some babies digest more slowly. Partially hydrolyzed formulas contain proteins that are already broken into smaller pieces, making them easier on the gut. Some of these formulas also reduce or remove lactose and add prebiotics, which in some studies have reduced the number of crying episodes per week.
The fat blend in formula also matters. Formulas that rely heavily on palm oil as their main fat source can lead to harder stools and more digestive discomfort, because palm oil releases fatty acids that bind to calcium in the gut and form hard, soap-like compounds. Formulas without palm oil or with a different fat structure tend to produce softer stools and less straining. Talk to your pediatrician before switching formulas, but know that these options exist.
What About Simethicone Drops?
Simethicone drops (sold under brand names like Mylicon and Infacol) are one of the most commonly purchased remedies for infant gas. They work by combining small gas bubbles into larger ones that are theoretically easier to pass. They’re generally considered safe, but here’s the catch: the evidence that they actually work is weak. A large systematic review published in BMJ Open found moderate to low evidence showing no benefit from simethicone. Multiple studies and clinical guidelines have concluded that it performs no better than placebo, and three out of four major guidelines reviewed recommended against its use.
This doesn’t mean it can’t help your individual baby, and it’s unlikely to cause harm. But if you’ve been using it without seeing improvement, the research suggests you’re not missing anything by stopping.
Probiotics Show More Promise
Probiotic drops have stronger evidence behind them, particularly for breastfed babies. A randomized, double-blind trial published in The Journal of Pediatrics tested a specific probiotic strain (Lactobacillus reuteri) given as five drops once daily for 21 days. Babies receiving the probiotic cried and fussed for an average of 29 hours over the study period, compared to 37 hours in the placebo group. By day 21, babies on the probiotic were down to about 60 minutes of daily crying versus 102 minutes in the placebo group. More than twice as many babies in the probiotic group achieved a 50% or greater reduction in crying time.
These are meaningful differences for exhausted parents. Probiotic drops formulated for infants are widely available, but check with your pediatrician about which product to use, since formulations vary.
Skip the Gripe Water
Gripe water is marketed heavily to parents of fussy babies, but there’s no scientific evidence that it’s safe or effective. It’s not regulated by the FDA, which means there’s no guarantee that what’s on the label matches what’s in the bottle. Common ingredients include fennel, ginger, and baking soda, none of which have been shown to relieve infant gas in clinical studies.
More concerning, multiple brands of gripe water have been recalled over the years. One recall followed a six-week-old infant becoming infected with a waterborne parasite that caused severe diarrhea. Another involved undissolved ingredients that posed a choking hazard. In one case, bacterial contamination in gripe water caused septic shock in a nine-month-old. The potential risks simply aren’t justified by an unproven remedy.
Signs That Something More Is Going On
Gas alone, even when it makes your baby miserable, is almost always harmless and temporary. Most babies outgrow the worst of it by three to four months as their digestive systems mature and they get better at moving gas through on their own. But certain symptoms alongside gas suggest something beyond normal discomfort:
- Vomiting or diarrhea (not just spit-up, but forceful or frequent vomiting)
- Refusing to eat or drinking noticeably less milk than usual
- Increased irritability when held or touched, rather than being soothed by contact
- A cry that sounds different from their usual fussing
- Changes in breathing rate or visible effort to breathe
- Unusual sleepiness or sluggishness
Any of these alongside persistent gas or crying warrants a call to your pediatrician to rule out conditions like reflux, milk protein allergy, or infection.