Infants may occasionally experience choking and difficulty breathing while drinking milk. This is usually related to rapid feeding, excessive amounts, or swallowing air while sucking. Due to the relatively small mouths and stomachs of infants, fast and large feedings can make it difficult for them to swallow in time, leading to choking. At the same time, crying while drinking can cause them to swallow a lot of air, and improper feeding, especially for newborns and young infants with immature nervous systems, may lead to dysfunction of the epiglottis function, making it easier for them to choke or even suffocate when lying on their side or back.
When facing infant choking, parents need to act quickly. The correct approach is to support the infant’s chest with one hand to keep them face down with their head slightly lower than their chest and abdomen, and to gently pat their back with the other hand. This helps the chest cavity contract, assisting in expelling the milk that is blocking the airway and restoring normal breathing.
To prevent infant choking, it’s important to adjust the feeding position, keeping the baby at approximately a 45-degree angle with the head slightly elevated and the body slightly lower. This facilitates smooth milk flow and reduces the risk of choking. Moreover, when using a bottle, choosing a nipple size appropriate for the baby’s age is crucial to avoid inappropriate milk flow speed that could lead to choking. Through these careful caregiving measures, feeding safety can be effectively enhanced, protecting the baby from the threat of choking.
