Birthy Book Club: Why Infant Reflux Matters by Carol Smyth (IBCLC)

“I think most parents want to help their baby thrive without medication if they can possibly avoid it… I aim to provide more information so that parents can make more informed decisions for their baby”

- Carol Smyth

why i read it:

As a postnatal doula, I support parents during the early days of their journey into parenthood and throughout the fourth trimester; the period of 12 weeks following the birth of their baby. During this time, it is common for new parents to have a bunch of worries, anxieties, concerns and questions they wish to discuss with someone “reliable”.

One of the most common concerns I hear from new parents is centred around reflux. “Do you think they have reflux?”, “does that sound like reflux to you”, “[x] told me that he/she has reflux” etc.

Usually, I will listen to that parent’s concern, I provide some reassurance, some support with feeding, an ear to listen and anything else they need. I leave when that parent feels better; having had a safe space held for them to voice their concerns, consider their baby’s behaviour, feeding issues etc. and being equipped with some new things to try whilst they find their feet int he wonderful world of parenthood.

A week or two later, I will visit that family again and they tell me they were getting increasingly anxious about their baby’s ‘sickyness’, upset and pain and have been to see their doctor. The doctor confirmed a diagnosis of reflux after listening to the parent and immediately prescribed some medication to help baby.

When I ask the parents whether they feel that the medication has helped with the baby’s symptoms, sometimes the answer is yes, but more often it is “I’m not sure” or “it might take some time for the medicine to kick in”. More worryingly, when I ask the parent what the medicine does, how it works or what’s in it, the parent often doesn’t know.

I want to say that this is very understandable behaviour for a new parent who is concerned about their baby who seems “sicky”, or upset or in pain. They go to a reliable health care professional who they trust to help them help their baby and they take medication when it’s offered by a doctor. This is totally valid. It’s also valid that they wouldn’t necessarily think to question the prescription of medication for an infant because after all, it has come from a trained doctor.

However, I often do wonder how long it took for the doctor to “diagnose” reflux? How much consideration was put into prescribing medication? How much investigation into that parent’s feelings over giving their baby medication was explored? Whether any benefits or risks of prescribing medication was discussed with the parent? Whether any alternatives to medication were provided to the parent?

The question I ask is: did this experience help that parent to feel more confident in their ability to parent their child in the long run? Is that health care professional, helping the parent to make informed choices about their baby’s care, involving them in their baby’s health care decisions? Or are they simply offering a “quick fix”?

what i thought about this book

In Why Infant Reflux Matters, Carol starts by saying that in her experience as an Independent Board Certified Lactation Consultant, she believes many families would prefer to resolve issues relating to their newborn without medication if possible. She also says that one of her top priorities when supporting families with reflux is to help them make informed decisions.

I could not agree more with Carol’s sentiments here. My aim is always to help parents make confident and informed decisions that are right for them. So it is unsurprising that I agreed with pretty much all of Carol’s thoughts and explanations.

In her book, Carol provides an all you need to know explanation of infant reflux as a physiological function of the newborn’s body and the difference between reflux and reflux disease.

Carol also explores reflux symptoms and how these may be misinterpreted as reflux disease symptoms rather than an infant feeding issue or a misunderstanding of newborn behaviour.

I think so many parents will benefit from this knowledge and gain a better understanding of what is considered “normal” and what may be cause for concern when it comes to their baby displaying reflux like symptoms. It will also help them to manage their anxiety and consider alternative explanations for baby’s behaviour.

Carol also provides advice on how to resolve reflux in an easy to follow guide which I think new parents will find invaluable. She provides some of the risks and benefits of commonly prescribed reflux medication and also discusses some alternatives.

Carol essentially talks a new parent through some of the things they might like to consider when they’re concerned about reflux. I think so many parents will feel reassured, held and supported by the advice set out in this book.

conclusion

Why Infant Reflux Matters will be going on my must read pile for all expectant or new parents or anyone supporting expectant or new parents.

If you are an expectant parent reading this blog, my advice is to read this book now rather than put it off until your baby is here (when you will inevitably) have less time.

Getting informed about infant reflux, in advance will put you in the best position to make confident informed choices if your baby experiences reflux. I