Gentle movement and positioning are the most effective ways to help a newborn pass trapped gas. Babies are born with immature digestive systems that struggle to move gas through efficiently, so they often need your help. The good news: a few simple techniques work well, and most babies outgrow the worst of it within a few months as their gut matures.
Why Newborns Get So Gassy
A newborn’s digestive system is, to put it simply, not very good at its job yet. The muscles that push food and air through the intestines are still learning to coordinate, and the gut’s response to milk changes significantly as your baby grows. Babies swallow air constantly: during feeding, while crying, even while sucking on a pacifier. That air gets trapped in the intestines, and because a newborn can’t move around, shift positions, or bear down effectively, the gas just sits there causing discomfort.
You’ll know your baby has gas when they pull their legs toward their chest, arch their back, clench their fists, or cry in short, intense bursts. Their belly may feel firm or look slightly distended. These signs are your cue to step in with one of the techniques below.
Burping: The First Line of Defense
Burping removes air from the stomach before it travels deeper into the intestines, where it becomes harder to release. Try to burp your baby during natural pauses in feeding, not just at the end. For bottle-fed babies, that means every ounce or two. For breastfed babies, burp when you switch sides.
Three positions work well, and it’s worth trying all of them because different babies respond to different angles:
- Over the shoulder. Hold your baby upright against your chest with their chin resting on your shoulder. Keep their back straight (not curled) and gently rub or pat between the shoulder blades.
- Sitting on your lap. Sit your baby on your lap facing away from you. Place your palm flat against their chest to support their chin and jaw, being careful not to press on the throat. Lean them forward slightly and rub or pat their back with your free hand.
- Lying across your lap. Lay your baby face down across your knees, supporting their chin with one hand. The gentle pressure of your legs against their belly can help coax a stubborn bubble out while you pat their back.
The key across all three positions: keep the spine straight, not curled up. A curved back compresses the stomach and makes it harder for air to escape upward.
Bicycle Legs and Leg Presses
When gas has already moved past the stomach and into the intestines, burping won’t reach it. This is where movement helps. Lay your baby on their back and gently cycle their legs as if they’re pedaling a tiny bicycle. The motion compresses and releases the abdomen rhythmically, nudging gas bubbles along the intestinal tract.
You can also try gently pressing both knees toward the belly at the same time, holding for a few seconds, then releasing. Alternate between the cycling and the pressing. There’s no strict count here. Do it for a minute or two, pause, and repeat if your baby seems comfortable. You’ll often hear (or feel) the results quickly.
The “I Love You” Belly Massage
This technique traces the path of the large intestine to physically push gas toward the exit. Place your baby on their back and use a flat hand or thumb. Never poke into the belly.
- The “I”: Stroke straight down the left side of your baby’s belly (your right as you face them). This traces the descending colon.
- The “L”: Draw an upside-down L, stroking across the upper belly from your left to right, then down the left side. This follows the transverse and descending colon.
- The “U”: Draw an upside-down U, starting at the lower right of the belly, going up, across the top, and down the left side. This traces the entire path of the large intestine.
All strokes go from the rib cage down, and any circular motions should move clockwise (from your baby’s perspective, that’s the direction their intestines flow). Use gentle, steady pressure. You can say “I love you” as you trace each letter, which also helps keep your baby calm and connected.
Tummy Time as Gas Relief
Supervised tummy time does double duty. The pressure of your baby’s own body weight against the floor or your chest compresses the abdomen and helps push trapped gas out. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that tummy time puts pressure on gas that might otherwise settle in and encourages it to move along.
If your baby resists tummy time on the floor, try laying them belly-down on your chest while you recline. This gives the same pressure benefit with the comfort of skin contact. Even a few minutes can make a difference. Avoid placing your baby on their stomach right after a full feeding, since that can trigger spit-up.
Feeding Adjustments That Prevent Gas
Much of newborn gas comes from swallowed air during feeding. A few simple changes can reduce how much air your baby takes in.
If you’re bottle feeding, use a slow-flow nipple. A fast flow forces your baby to gulp, swallowing air with each mouthful. Hold your baby in a nearly upright position rather than laying them flat, and tilt the bottle sideways so the nipple is only half full of milk. This technique, called paced feeding, lets your baby control the flow and swallow less air. It more closely mimics the rhythm of breastfeeding.
If you’re breastfeeding, check the latch. A shallow latch creates gaps around the nipple where air sneaks in. You should hear swallowing, not clicking or smacking sounds. If your letdown is fast and your baby seems to choke or gulp at the start of a feed, try leaning back so gravity slows the flow.
Gas Drops and Probiotics
Over-the-counter gas drops containing simethicone work by breaking large gas bubbles into smaller ones that are easier to pass. The standard infant dose is 0.3 mL, and it can be given after meals and at bedtime, up to 12 times per day. Simethicone isn’t absorbed into the bloodstream. It stays in the gut and passes through, which is why it’s considered safe for newborns. That said, it doesn’t work for every baby, and results vary.
Probiotics are another option worth knowing about. A study of 50 colicky, exclusively breastfed infants found that those given a specific probiotic strain (L. reuteri) cried a median of 35 minutes per day after three weeks, compared to 90 minutes in the placebo group. Both groups started at around 300 to 370 minutes of daily crying. That’s a meaningful reduction. The probiotic was given as five drops before the first feeding each day. Research on probiotics in formula-fed babies is less clear, so this option is most supported for breastfed infants.
A Warm Bath
Warm water relaxes the abdominal muscles, which can release gas that’s been held in by tension. A bath won’t work miracles on its own, but it can be a useful tool when your baby is too upset for massage or leg exercises. The warmth and the sensory distraction often calm the crying enough that you can follow up with one of the hands-on techniques afterward.
When Gas Signals Something More Serious
Normal newborn gas is uncomfortable but temporary. The discomfort comes and goes, your baby still feeds well, has regular bowel movements, and is gaining weight. A few signs point to something beyond routine gas. If your baby’s abdomen is visibly swollen and firm, if they’re vomiting repeatedly (not just spitting up), if they can’t pass gas or have a bowel movement at all, or if they’ve lost their appetite entirely, these can indicate an intestinal blockage. In infants, the most common cause of obstruction is intussusception, where one section of the intestine telescopes into the next. This is rare but requires immediate medical attention.
Blood in the stool, a fever, or inconsolable crying that lasts for hours without any relief from the techniques above also warrants a call to your pediatrician. Gas is one of the most common and most manageable newborn complaints, but trust your instincts if something feels different.