Newborn hiccups are almost always harmless, and most episodes stop on their own within 5 to 10 minutes. Your baby’s diaphragm, the muscle beneath the lungs that controls breathing, is still maturing and prone to small spasms. These spasms produce that familiar “hic” sound and can look alarming, but they rarely bother your baby the way they bother you.
Why Newborns Hiccup So Often
Hiccups begin in the womb as early as nine weeks of gestational age, making them one of the earliest patterns of movement a fetus develops. In newborns, the nervous system pathways that control the diaphragm are still being wired together, which means the muscle contracts more easily and more often than it will later in life.
Research from University College London found that each hiccup contraction triggers a burst of brainwaves in the newborn’s cortex. The baby’s brain appears to use these signals to map the connection between the “hic” sound it hears and the physical sensation of the diaphragm moving. In other words, hiccups may actually help your baby learn how to control breathing. The circuits that process body sensations aren’t fully developed at birth, so repetitive events like hiccups serve as practice runs for the nervous system.
How to Stop an Active Episode
Most of the time, the best thing to do is simply wait. A typical bout resolves within 5 to 10 minutes without any intervention. If the hiccups haven’t stopped after that window, try resuming a feeding for a few minutes. The swallowing motion can help reset the rhythm of the diaphragm.
Offering a pacifier is another reliable option. The sucking motion relaxes the diaphragm and often stops the spasms. This works whether your baby is breastfed or bottle-fed, and it doesn’t matter if the pacifier isn’t associated with a feeding.
You can also try gently burping your baby. If the hiccups started during or right after a feed, a trapped air bubble in the stomach may be pressing against the diaphragm and triggering contractions. Hold your baby upright against your chest or sitting on your lap, supporting their chin, and pat or rub their back until you hear a burp or the hiccups ease.
Preventing Hiccups Before They Start
You won’t eliminate hiccups entirely (they’re a normal part of development), but you can reduce how often they happen by minimizing the amount of air your baby swallows during feedings.
- Burp at natural pauses. If you’re bottle-feeding, burp after every 2 to 3 ounces. If you’re breastfeeding, burp when switching breasts or whenever your baby pulls off naturally.
- Keep the bottle tilted. Angle the bottle so milk completely fills the nipple, leaving no air pocket for your baby to suck in.
- Slow the flow. A nipple with too fast a flow forces your baby to gulp, swallowing more air. Use a slow-flow nipple appropriate for your baby’s age.
- Feed before your baby is frantic. A very hungry baby feeds aggressively and swallows more air. Watch for early hunger cues like lip-smacking or hand-to-mouth movements rather than waiting for full crying.
- Keep your baby semi-upright. Feeding at a slight incline rather than flat on their back helps air rise to the top of the stomach where it’s easier to burp out.
Remedies You Should Never Try
Many of the hiccup “cures” that work (or at least feel like they work) for adults are genuinely dangerous for a newborn. Never try to startle or scare your baby to stop hiccups. Don’t press on their eyeballs or the soft spot on their head. Don’t pull on their tongue, give them sour candy or lemon, or ask an older infant to hold their breath. These methods are ineffective for babies and carry real risks of injury or choking.
Gripe water is sometimes suggested online, but there’s no strong evidence it stops hiccups, and some formulations contain ingredients that aren’t regulated or tested for infant safety. Stick with the simple approaches: wait, offer a pacifier, or resume feeding.
When Hiccups Signal Something Else
On their own, even frequent hiccups are normal. They become worth mentioning to your pediatrician when they consistently appear alongside other symptoms that suggest gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Signs to watch for include:
- Arching of the back during or after feeds, with abnormal neck or chin movements
- Frequent spitting up paired with irritability, not just the occasional spit-up that doesn’t seem to bother your baby
- Choking, gagging, or difficulty swallowing during feeds
- Refusing to eat or losing appetite
- Poor weight gain, persistent cough, or wheezing
Certain vomiting patterns also warrant a call to the doctor right away: vomiting that is regularly forceful (projectile), vomit that looks green or yellow (indicating bile), or regurgitation that first appears before two weeks of age or after six months. These can point to conditions unrelated to GERD that need prompt evaluation.
How Long the Hiccup Phase Lasts
Newborns hiccup more than older babies because their nervous systems are still developing the ability to smoothly control the diaphragm. Most parents notice a significant drop in hiccup frequency by the time their baby is around 6 to 12 months old, as the brain-body connections that regulate breathing mature. Some toddlers still get occasional bouts, but they become shorter, less frequent, and increasingly resemble the minor hiccup episodes adults experience. Until then, each round of hiccups is your baby’s nervous system doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.