Baby hiccups are almost always harmless, and most bouts stop on their own within a few minutes. Newborns and infants hiccup far more often than adults because their diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle beneath the lungs, is still maturing and easily irritated. While you can’t instantly switch hiccups off, a few simple techniques can help them pass faster, and some feeding adjustments can make them less frequent in the first place.
Why Babies Hiccup So Often
A hiccup is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm followed by a quick closure of the vocal cords, which produces the “hic” sound. In babies, this happens more frequently because the muscles and nerves controlling breathing are still developing. Anything that irritates or stretches the stomach, like swallowed air, a full belly, or a sudden temperature change in the stomach, can trigger a spasm.
Interestingly, hiccups may actually serve a purpose in early life. Researchers at University College London found that each hiccup triggers a pronounced response in a newborn’s brain: two large brainwaves followed by a third. That third wave resembles the brain’s response to sound, suggesting the baby’s brain is learning to connect the “hic” sound with the physical sensation of the diaphragm contracting. Over time, this feedback loop may help infants develop voluntary control over their breathing muscles. Fetuses hiccup in the womb as early as nine weeks of gestation, which supports the idea that hiccups play a role in neurological development.
How to Calm Active Hiccups
When your baby is mid-hiccup, the goal is to relax the diaphragm and release any trapped air. These approaches are gentle and safe:
- Pause and burp. If hiccups start during a feeding, stop and burp your baby before continuing. Getting an air bubble out often settles the diaphragm.
- Offer a pacifier. Sucking without feeding can help relax the diaphragm and calm the spasms. The rhythmic motion may reset the muscle’s pattern.
- Hold your baby upright. Keeping them in an upright position for 10 to 15 minutes after a feeding lets gravity help air rise out of the stomach.
- Rub or gently pat the back. Light pressure on the back, especially between the shoulder blades, can encourage trapped air to move.
- Wait it out. If your baby seems comfortable and unbothered, doing nothing is perfectly fine. Most hiccup episodes resolve within 5 to 10 minutes.
Feeding Adjustments That Prevent Hiccups
The most common trigger for baby hiccups is swallowed air during feeding, so the best long-term strategy is reducing how much air gets in.
Burping Frequency
For bottle-fed babies, burp every 2 to 3 ounces (60 to 90 milliliters). If you’re breastfeeding, burp each time you switch breasts. Babies who tend to be gassy, spit up a lot, or seem fussy during feedings benefit from even more frequent breaks: every ounce during bottle feeding or every 5 minutes during breastfeeding.
Getting a Good Latch
A shallow latch on the breast lets air sneak in around the nipple. To get a deep latch, tickle your baby’s lips with your nipple so their mouth opens wide, then aim the nipple just above their top lip. Your baby should lead with the chin, mouth open like a fish with both lips turned outward, taking in a large portion of the breast rather than just the nipple tip. The baby’s chest and stomach should rest flat against your body with the head straight, not turned to the side. If the latch feels pinchy or shallow, slide a clean finger into the corner of their mouth to break suction and try again.
Bottle Feeding Tips
Tilt the bottle at an angle that keeps the nipple completely filled with milk rather than half-air. Slow-flow nipples reduce the speed of milk delivery, which means your baby swallows less air as they work to keep up. Feeding in a more upright, semi-reclined position also helps air naturally rise away from the stomach’s exit.
Avoid Overfeeding
A stomach stretched too full puts pressure on the diaphragm from below. Smaller, more frequent feedings are less likely to trigger hiccups than larger, spaced-out ones. Watch for your baby’s fullness cues, like turning away from the breast or bottle, slowing their sucking, or relaxing their hands.
Remedies to Avoid
Many traditional hiccup cures that work (or at least feel harmless) for adults are genuinely unsafe for infants. Do not try any of the following:
- Scaring your baby. Startling an infant causes distress and does nothing to reset the diaphragm.
- Giving water. Babies under six months should not drink water. It can interfere with their nutrition and, in larger amounts, dangerously dilute their blood sodium levels.
- Pulling their tongue. This is a choking risk and causes pain.
- Pinching their nose. Newborns are obligate nose breathers, meaning they rely almost entirely on their nose to breathe. Blocking it is dangerous.
- Feeding more to “push through” the hiccups. Adding milk to an already full or air-filled stomach typically makes hiccups worse, not better.
When Hiccups Signal Something Else
Occasional hiccups, even daily ones, are a normal part of infancy. They tend to decrease significantly after a baby’s first birthday as the digestive and respiratory systems mature. Contact your pediatrician if hiccups last continuously for more than two days, or if your baby seems to be in pain, is vomiting frequently alongside hiccup episodes, or is having trouble feeding because hiccups interrupt nearly every session. Persistent hiccups can occasionally be a sign of gastroesophageal reflux, which is manageable but worth diagnosing so your baby stays comfortable and well-fed.