![]() ![]() This is why babies gag easily: the more forward the gag trigger is on the tongue, the easier it is to trigger. Interestingly, the gag reflex of a 6- to 10-month-old baby is much more sensitive and can be triggered more forward on the tongue than an adult. This occasional gagging at a young age does not seem to bother most infants. This gag reflex typically lessens over the first few months of baby’s life when baby gets “desensitized” and learns to accept it (pacifier, nipple, or food texture) without gagging. ![]() All of these gags occur because the brain is trying to protect the baby from swallowing an “intruder,” or something the baby isn’t ready to swallow. Many babies will gag on a pacifier or certain bottle nipples if they aren’t familiar with them. Others gag when they need to catch their breath instead of swallowing. Some babies gag when mom’s letdown is too fast. This typically occurs when baby either isn’t properly latched, and the nipple triggers the reflex, or if the baby isn’t ready to swallow milk for whatever reason. Babies gagging on food is normalīabies often gag well before they start solids, when breast or bottle feeding. The good news is that babies typically outgrow gagging after a couple of months of practice with various textured foods. All babies gag in their eating journey-it’s one way they learn how to eat. Gagging is very common and will happen a lot in baby’s solid food journey. Gagging is a completely normal reflex in infants, children and adults alike. True choking is when the airway is obstructed, and the baby is having trouble breathing. What is the difference between choking and gagging?įirst, it is important to distinguish the difference between gagging and choking. Our bodies are quite skilled at keeping us safe. ![]() For example, if anything gets too close to the opening of the airway, even before it gets a chance to get in, the vocal cords immediately close (the technical name for this is the laryngeal adductor reflex), and our body immediately coughs to push the item away from the breathing tube. We even have back up for those back ups that are activated if needed. Just like any good system, we have back up already built in. The epiglottis, a tiny flap of cartilage, tilts down to cover the airway forming a tight seal with the joints that help move the vocal cords. The muscles of the throat pull the breathing tube slightly up and forward, tucking it safely out of the way of the food passing.ģ. When we swallow, our vocal cords, which are like sliding doors inside the breathing tube, come together, closing off the airway and preventing food from entering the lungs.Ģ. There are three important lines of defense that we have with every single swallow.ġ. These actions happen reflexively, meaning the brainstem tells our body to do them–they are involuntary. Swallowing is a complex reflex with multiple lines of defense built in to prevent choking. If your child is having a health emergency, please call 911 or your emergency medical resource provider immediately. The opinions, advice, suggestions and information presented in this article on gagging are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional advice from or consultation with your pediatric medical or health professional. This page has been created with typically developing infants and children in mind. The information here is generalized for a broad audience and is for informational purposes only. If your child has underlying medical or developmental differences, including but not limited to prematurity, developmental delay, hypotonia, airway differences, chromosomal abnormalities, craniofacial anomalies, gastrointestinal differences, cardiopulmonary disease, or neurological differences, we strongly recommend you discuss your child's feeding plan with the child's doctor, health care provider or therapy team. And if you are struggling with the transition from spoon feeding / purees to self-feeding with table food, watch our Spoons to Fingers video. > Just starting solids? Check out our virtual course (includes videos on infant rescue and toddler rescue) as well as our guides and recipes on for the best first foods for baby. Just like the reflexive kick that occurs when the doctor taps your knee in just the right spot, the gag happens automatically, initiating a rhythmic bottom-up contraction of your pharynx (the tube that leads to your stomach) to assist in bringing food up and to stop the swallowing reflex from making our bodies try to swallow. Gagging is a natural protective reflex that results in the contraction of the back of the throat to protect us from choking. ![]()
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