hiccups, newborn

What causes hiccups? Beats me. It seems to have something to do with the neurologic control of the diaphragm that somehow gets temporarily confused for whatever reason, since that's what a hiccup is - a sudden spastic contraction of the diaphragm. Since fetuses (yep, in utero) get hiccups (as many mothers can attest) - air has nothing to do with it. The unborn child does "breathe" amniotic fluid in the womb - that is necessary for the lungs to form normally. It seems if you give your newborn with the hiccups a little something to drink, they go away. I can't prove that's why they disappear - it could be coincidence. At any rate, much ado about nothing.

Night, Night! Dr. Hull's Common Sense Sleep Solutions©

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