# Choking baby



## kungfumoose (Feb 8, 2006)

nak
my daughter is 2 months old.
sometimes she chokes when she is nursing.
She'll start to sputter, and cough, and at first it really scared me, but then I realised, if I just lift her into a vertical position, and gently pat her back, she would breathe between coughs, and it would ease after a moment.
The other day, she started coughing, then tried to cough again and couldn't, she made this horrible gasping, gurgling noise. She had a distressed facial expression, and started to turn blue. She wasn't breathing. I was terrified. I picked her up, and yelled "breathe!!!" I patted her on the back, and wondered if I should start Mouth to mouth. (how do you help a child that is choking on liquid?) I was so scared. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it seemed like forever. finally she started to cough and make choking noises, and eventually she was breathing, but it was gasping and ragged sounding.
It scared me so badly!!!

I think I might have overactive let down. (it sure hurts when it happens!! and if she detaches during or just after let down, I have a milk fountain







)
I already nurse on just the one side at a time.
I am worried. It's not really bad, and she does comfort nurse, but this choking thing has really scared me.
What should I do?

oh, and does anybody know what to do to help a baby choking on liquid? I know infant CPR (I need to brush up though) and I know the heimlich, but what do you do about liquid?

TIA

~Moose


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## amysuen (Dec 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kungfumoose* 
nak
my daughter is 2 months old.
sometimes she chokes when she is nursing.
She'll start to sputter, and cough, and at first it really scared me, but then I realised, if I just lift her into a vertical position, and gently pat her back, she would breathe between coughs, and it would ease after a moment.
The other day, she started coughing, then tried to cough again and couldn't, she made this horrible gasping, gurgling noise. She had a distressed facial expression, and started to turn blue. She wasn't breathing. I was terrified. I picked her up, and yelled "breathe!!!" I patted her on the back, and wondered if I should start Mouth to mouth. (how do you help a child that is choking on liquid?) I was so scared. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it seemed like forever. finally she started to cough and make choking noises, and eventually she was breathing, but it was gasping and ragged sounding.
It scared me so badly!!!

I think I might have overactive let down. (it sure hurts when it happens!! and if she detaches during or just after let down, I have a milk fountain







)
I already nurse on just the one side at a time.
I am worried. It's not really bad, and she does comfort nurse, but this choking thing has really scared me.
What should I do?

oh, and does anybody know what to do to help a baby choking on liquid? I know infant CPR (I need to brush up though) and I know the heimlich, but what do you do about liquid?

TIA

~Moose

That would freak me out!!

How to help a choking infant

ETA- I wouldn't think it matters what's causing the choking, liquid or solid.


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## ArtistMama (Sep 19, 2006)

That link is exactly what we do for dd.

If a baby is really really choking, that's how to handle it. Our dd has a choking problem due to acid reflux, so we have done this many times.

We had her assessed by feeding specialists because of the choking, and they assured us that coughing was a very good sign. A strong cough can mean that there is nothing 'wrong' with the throat or the reflexes, and can indicate that the choking is being caused by something else.

For us it was reflux, it sounds like your baby may be choking because of your let-down. I used to 'drown' dd a little at the start, but as she got older my supply and let-down calmed down and she was also more able to handle the flood.

Good luck, I hope you don't have many more scares!!


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## ndunn (Mar 22, 2006)

This happeend to my dd out of the blue a couple weeks ago. She wasn't chewing on anything or nursing. It was the wierdest thing. And she just does that sometimes, coughs and then can't catch her breath, but this time she actualy turned blue and I had to call 911. It was really scary. I'm sorry that happened to you!


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## Kino (Jun 18, 2006)

I choke my dd with my overactive let down too. When she comes off to cough and catch her breath my milk will either soak the both of us or shoot her in the face. Poor babe! It's not as bad as when she was first born so I'm counting on it to disappear as she grows. It still scares me at times though


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## kungfumoose (Feb 8, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amysuen* 
That would freak me out!!

How to help a choking infant

ETA- I wouldn't think it matters what's causing the choking, liquid or solid.

Thank you very very much.







I had kind of been doing something similar out of instinct, but it's great to know exactly what to do.
I had always learned about the "sweeping the mouth" to remove the foreign object, and it's kind of hard to remove liquid that way!!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ndunn* 
This happeend to my dd out of the blue a couple weeks ago. She wasn't chewing on anything or nursing. It was the wierdest thing. And she just does that sometimes, coughs and then can't catch her breath, but this time she actualy turned blue and I had to call 911. It was really scary. I'm sorry that happened to you!

Oh my gosh!! It wasn't long enough for me to even think about calling 911. that must have been so scary!!

Thanks for the advice.

~Moose


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## newlywaaz (Oct 19, 2006)

hmm, sometimes my letdown is really strong when ds is especially voracious and it causes him to choke a bit. He recovers pretty quickly though, so I am more amused than worried (especially if he pulls off at just the right time and gets sprayed in the face). I think the worst he's ever been is red.

You could try nursing him upright (in a sling or with his legs straddling yours on the couch, t2t). I find it helps.


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## njohnson (Mar 18, 2006)

My DS was the same way. He is almost 8 months old now, but he choked a lot while breastfeeding when he was younger. I, too, had overactive letdown. I may have even posted something on here about it when we were going through it. Anyway, one thing you can do is pump a little before you feed him/her. I know that my milk would just spray out everywhere so sometimes I would have to express a little before he nursed. He still "chokes" a little bit while nursing, but defintiely not as much. Something I found very interesting though, he never choked while nursing on his side while in bed. Interesting.

About helping a choking infant: I am a CPR/First Aid Instructor for the American Heart Association, and the link that "kungfumoose" sent you is good for you to check out. Even though I am an instructor, we never really teach about choking on liquids specifically, however, I used to be a lifeguard instructor too, and the same goes for choking on liquid and food. First of all, coughing is a good sign. That means that there is air getting through so the airway is not totally blocked. If the baby stops making noise and turns blue, that is when you need to begin back blows (turn baby over, well supported on your arm face down at an angle, and forcefully pat on the back in an inward and upward motion between shoulder blades). The second part is to do chest compressions, however, if the back blows clears it, you probably won't need the chest compressions. The technique is 5 back blows to 5 chest compressions, then look in the mouth, if nothing in there, blow in the mouth. You can check it out on the AHA website or any other. They are all the same. With the choking on brestmilk, you may not have to go that far into it. Usually lifting the baby upright and a little pat on the back helps. By the way, if your baby is ever choking on a solid, patting on the back is NOT recommended. It could force the food farther into the throat. Just encourage them to cough, you can do the back blows over your arm if needed, but not just a pat on the back in upright position. Am I confusing you??? Sorry, I think I am starting to. It is much easier to teach in person than to write it down.

Bottom line, try pumping a little first. If the baby chokes a little on the milk, sit him/her up and pat on back. If he/she stops coughing and turns blue, start back blows! Does this help?????? Sorry.


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## mkmama (Jul 9, 2006)

I had a painful/overactive letdown and little DS eventually just got the hang of it and glugged away. However, it might be a good idea in your situation that when you feel the letdown come, pull him off and let the milk spray into a towel. When it is done spraying, relatch dc. this should help a lot.


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## northcountrymamma (Feb 24, 2006)

This same thing happened to my dd when she was 5 days old. Unfortunately it happened multiple times until about one month. SHe grew out of it but while it was happening, I took a child and infant CPR class. There apparently are multiple tests but they are all quite intrusive. We avoided them.
I too had an overactive letdown, but as soon as this happened I pulled her off and put it in to a cup. It's so scary, I feel for you. I so hope that you never have to deal with it again.


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## peachymomma (Jun 25, 2003)

Ds#1 Did that! It scared me to death. That is how the family bed got started in our house. I was way to afraid to lay him down for months.

Since then I have learned that it could have been over active let down or reflux.

I will pray for you mama.


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## RoMonstersMama (Oct 13, 2006)

I have encountered the same issue with my son (10wk old today). He would come off the breast after the letdown choking and then get showered in a stream of milk. My lactation consultant friend directed me to this link and it was very helpful. The additional resources at the end of the article are great too so check them out. Two weeks ago I nursed on the same side for 3 or 4 feedings and then switched to the other side and did the same. I did this for a few days and once my body got adjusted by decreasing the milk supply, things have been better. He still chokes occasionally and I do still spray milk sometimes, but not nearly as often as before. Good luck with curbing the flow a bit!

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html


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## njohnson (Mar 18, 2006)

Also, my baby had acid reflux. I really think that is related.


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## kungfumoose (Feb 8, 2006)

Thanks for all the advice.









I guess it happens to babies a little more often than I thought.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *njohnson* 
Also, my baby had acid reflux. I really think that is related.

Hmm....My baby has reflux too.....I wonder....
I'll have to look into that.

~Moose


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