Yes, hiccups are completely normal in newborns. Most babies hiccup frequently in their first few months of life, and the episodes are harmless. In fact, hiccups start long before birth. Babies begin hiccupping in the womb as early as nine weeks gestational age, making hiccups one of the earliest patterns of activity a developing body produces.
Why Newborns Hiccup So Often
A hiccup is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle beneath the lungs that controls breathing. In newborns, the nervous system pathways that coordinate this muscle are still maturing. The diaphragm is more easily triggered into spasms, which is why babies hiccup far more often than older children or adults.
Premature babies hiccup even more. Preterm infants spend roughly 1% of their time hiccupping, which works out to about 15 minutes a day. As the nervous system matures over the first several months, hiccup episodes naturally become less frequent.
Hiccups May Help Your Baby’s Brain Develop
Researchers at University College London discovered that newborn hiccups appear to serve a real developmental purpose. Using brain scans and movement sensors on newborns, the team found that each diaphragm contraction during a hiccup triggered a pronounced burst of electrical activity in the brain’s cortex: two large brainwaves followed by a third.
That third wave closely resembled the brain’s response to hearing a sound. This suggests a baby’s brain may be linking the “hic” sound it hears with the physical sensation of the diaphragm contracting. Over time, this feedback loop could help the brain learn to monitor and eventually control the breathing muscles voluntarily. At birth, the circuits that process body sensations aren’t fully wired yet, so repetitive experiences like hiccups help build those connections.
In other words, those hiccups that seem like a nuisance may actually be your baby’s brain practicing how to breathe.
Common Triggers
While hiccups can happen at any time, a few situations make them more likely:
- Feeding too fast or too much. When a baby gulps milk quickly, they swallow air along with it. That air expands the stomach, which sits just below the diaphragm and can irritate it into spasms.
- Eating while upset or crying. A fussy, overly hungry baby tends to swallow more air during a feeding.
- Temperature changes. A sudden shift in body temperature, like being undressed for a diaper change, can occasionally set off a round of hiccups.
How to Help Your Baby Through Hiccups
Most of the time, the best approach is to simply wait. Hiccup episodes typically resolve on their own within a few minutes, and they don’t cause babies pain or distress, even though they can look uncomfortable to a parent watching.
If your baby hiccups frequently, try feeding them before they get extremely hungry. A calmer baby at the start of a feeding swallows less air, which makes hiccups less likely. Burping your baby midway through a feeding (not just at the end) also helps release trapped air before it builds up. Keeping your baby upright for 10 to 15 minutes after a feed gives the stomach time to settle. Offering a pacifier between feedings can sometimes relax the diaphragm enough to stop an active bout.
One important note: never try adult hiccup remedies on a baby. Startling them, pressing on their eyeballs, or pulling their tongue are all unsafe for infants.
Hiccups During Sleep
It’s common for babies to hiccup while sleeping, and it rarely wakes them. Newborns spend much of their day asleep, so the timing is often coincidental. If your baby is sleeping peacefully through a hiccup episode, there’s no reason to pick them up or intervene. Their body handles it just fine on its own.
When Hiccups Signal Something Else
On their own, even very frequent hiccups are not a concern. But if hiccups consistently come with other symptoms, they can occasionally point to gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). Signs that hiccups might be reflux-related include frequent spitting up, coughing during or after feedings, irritability and crying that seems tied to meals, and arching of the back especially during or right after eating. If you’re noticing several of these patterns together, it’s worth bringing up with your pediatrician. Reflux is manageable, and hiccups alone, without those additional signs, aren’t a red flag.
For most babies, hiccups taper off significantly by 6 to 12 months of age as the diaphragm and nervous system mature. Until then, those little “hics” are a normal, even productive, part of your baby’s early development.