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Reflux in babies (spitting up, GER and GERD): what is normal, the warning signs, and the treatment
For anyone looking after a baby who spits up a lot, arches, gags or fusses at feeds, or who was told it may be reflux. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what is normal and how common it is; when it may be GERD; the signs that mean calling a doctor right away; the tests; the treatment, from burping and holding upright to medicines; and changes to feeding. It builds the words to say to your baby’s doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card.
Right now
- Blood or what looks like coffee grounds in the vomit, blood in the stool, green or yellow vomit, forceful or very large vomiting, trouble breathing or swallowing, or no wet diapers for 3 hours or more? Call a doctor right away (NIDDK). If you believe it is an emergency, call 911 (ours; NIDDK’s page does not name 911).
- Your baby cannot breathe, cough or cry? That is choking: what to do now (ours).
- Are you at your limit, or thinking of ending your life? Put the baby down somewhere safe and see Crying baby; call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: A child’s health: find the right page · Belly and stomach · Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child · Crying baby.
- Feeding: Breastfeeding · Baby log · When you need food.
- Getting ready: An upper GI endoscopy · An upper GI series · Get ready for your appointment · My medicines · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- For you: Depression after a baby · When you want to quit smoking.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Heartburn and acid reflux (GERD): the signs, when to see a doctor, what helps, and the medicines: heartburn and acid reflux (GERD): the signs, when to see a doctor, what helps, and the kinds of medicine.
- Pregnant, or with a new baby: the CDC’s urgent warning signs, health coverage, WIC and diapers, and your rights at work.
- Acid reflux in children and teens (heartburn, regurgitation, GER and GERD): the signs, the tests, and the treatment: a child or teen with heartburn or food coming back up (acid reflux, GER and GERD): who gets it, the complications, the signs that mean calling a doctor right away, the tests, the treatment, and food and weight.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 18, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Acid Reflux (GER & GERD) in Infants (last reviewed November 2020) and its Spanish page Reflujo gástrico (RGE y ERGE) en bebés (last reviewed November 2020), which say the same. The numbers (70 to 85 percent by 2 months; most gone by 12 to 14 months; upright for 20 or 30 minutes; no wet diapers for 3 hours or more; vomiting that starts before 2 weeks or after 6 months; a special formula tried for 2 to 4 weeks) are NIDDK’s. Ours: when to call 911 (NIDDK’s page does not name it); the choking and crying baby links; 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the drawings, the section on clinical trials, NIDDK’s outside links, and any medicine names or amounts (NIDDK gives none). This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.