Babies get hiccups because their diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle that controls breathing, contracts suddenly and involuntarily. These spasms are extremely common in newborns and, far from being a problem, appear to serve an important purpose: helping the baby’s brain learn how to control breathing. Hiccups actually begin in the womb as early as nine weeks gestational age, making them one of the earliest patterns of movement a fetus develops.
What Happens Inside the Body
A hiccup starts when something irritates or stimulates the diaphragm, causing it to contract sharply. That sudden contraction pulls air into the throat, where it hits the closed vocal cords and produces the familiar “hic” sound. In adults, this is little more than an annoyance. In babies, the immature nervous system is still fine-tuning its control over the diaphragm and the muscles involved in breathing, so these involuntary contractions fire more easily and more often.
Several everyday things can set off a bout of hiccups in an infant. Swallowing air during feeding is one of the most common triggers, especially if a baby is feeding quickly or not latching well. A full stomach can press against the diaphragm and irritate it. Sudden changes in temperature, excitement, or even a burst of crying can also do the trick. None of these triggers are harmful, and in most cases the hiccups resolve on their own within five to ten minutes.
Hiccups May Train the Baby’s Brain
Researchers at University College London discovered that each time a newborn hiccups, it triggers a large wave of electrical signals in the brain’s cortex. Specifically, the diaphragm contraction produced two distinct brainwaves, followed by a third that closely resembled the brain’s response to hearing a sound. This suggests the baby’s brain is linking the physical sensation of the diaphragm moving with the “hic” noise it hears at the same time.
Why does that matter? At birth, the neural circuits that process body sensations are not fully developed. Every hiccup gives the brain practice at recognizing what the diaphragm is doing, essentially building a map of how the breathing muscles feel when they contract. Over time, this helps the baby gain voluntary control over breathing, learning to move the diaphragm up and down on purpose rather than relying entirely on automatic reflexes. Establishing those brain-body connections is considered a crucial developmental milestone for newborns.
This finding also offers an interesting explanation for why adults still hiccup at all. The researchers speculated that adult hiccups may be a vestigial reflex, a leftover from infancy when the spasms served a genuine developmental function.
Why Newborns Hiccup More Than Older Babies
Newborns hiccup far more frequently than older children or adults. Premature infants spend roughly 1% of their time hiccupping, and full-term newborns aren’t far behind. The frequency is highest in the first few weeks and months of life, when the nervous system is doing its most intensive wiring work. As the baby’s brain matures and the neural circuits controlling the diaphragm become more established, hiccup episodes naturally taper off. Most parents notice a significant decline by around six months, though occasional bouts continue well into toddlerhood and beyond.
Common Triggers During Feeding
Feeding is the single most common situation in which parents notice hiccups, and there are a few reasons for that. When babies nurse or drink from a bottle, they inevitably swallow some air along with milk. That air expands the stomach, which sits just below the diaphragm. The resulting pressure can irritate the muscle and kick off a round of hiccups.
Babies who feed very quickly, or who take in large volumes at once, are more prone to this because they tend to swallow more air and fill their stomachs faster. A poor latch during breastfeeding or a bottle nipple with too fast a flow can make the problem worse. Gastric reflux, where small amounts of stomach contents travel back up the esophagus, can also stimulate the nerve pathways that trigger the diaphragm to spasm.
Simple Ways to Ease Hiccups
Most hiccup bouts resolve completely on their own within a few minutes. If they last longer than five to ten minutes, resuming feeding for a short stretch usually stops them. The sucking and swallowing motion helps relax the diaphragm and reset its rhythm.
A few practical strategies can reduce how often hiccups happen in the first place:
- Burp during and after feeds. Pausing halfway through a feeding to burp your baby releases trapped air before the stomach gets too full.
- Feed in an upright position. Keeping your baby’s head higher than their stomach helps air rise to the top, where it’s easier to burp out.
- Slow the pace. If your baby gulps aggressively, take short breaks during the feed. For bottle-fed babies, a slower-flow nipple can help.
- Wait for calm. Starting a feed when a baby is already crying means they’ve swallowed extra air. Soothing them first can make a difference.
One important note: the classic hiccup “cures” that work for adults, like startling someone or holding their breath, should never be used on infants. Babies can’t follow those instructions, and surprising or frightening a newborn does nothing productive.
When Hiccups Signal Something More
In the vast majority of cases, hiccups are completely harmless and a normal part of infant development. Occasionally, though, persistent hiccups can point to gastroesophageal reflux that needs attention. Signs to watch for include hiccup episodes that consistently last longer than ten minutes, frequent spitting up or arching of the back during or after feeds, and a baby who seems genuinely distressed or uncomfortable rather than simply surprised by the spasms. Hiccups alone, without these accompanying signs, are almost never a concern.