Is Your Baby Gagging or Choking?

Oh, man, this one is so scary. I get it. And I'm here for you.

In this video, I'm going to show you how to recognize the difference between gagging and choking and when to wait and when to intervene. I'm here for you and we're in this together.

My name is Lindsay, and welcome to the Little Foundations Channel, where I help parents and caregivers to create healthy habits for their babies from the very start.

Let's start at the very beginning. I usually tell families, let's pretend that this is your baby's tongue. This is the tip of their tongue, and this is the back of their throat. Sometimes, when infants are first born, the top of their tongue is very sensitive. So, pacifiers or different bottle nipples or even a mother's breast can make them gag.

Gagging is a natural reflex that protects the body from getting anything down its throat that might keep them from breathing.

So, it's natural, but it sure is alarming. Over time, with development and a little bit of help, your baby's gag reflex will move back toward the back of their throat. Some things that can help are when they put their fingers in their mouth or teethers or bite down on toys.

And while I know we don't want them to put lots of dirty things in their mouth, we do want them to have access to teethers and some safe and clean toys that they can bite down on. All of this will help them to get their mouth ready to start eating and to get more comfortable. But unfortunately, it's a phase that we all have to go through.

So let's get right to it. I want to show you what to look for to know if your baby is gagging or if your baby is choking. As with everything on here, we want to make sure that you and your medical provider are making all the choices for your babies.

But it's important that you and any caregivers are certified in CPR. Not only because of what we're going to talk about with feeding, but because at any point there could be an emergency. It's important that all caregivers are trained in CPR.

Okay, let's get into it. If your baby is gagging, they may make a long retching sound. They will close their eyes and make a sound that sounds like they're going to vomit. That is very typical of a baby who's gagging. Sometimes it is quick and loud, and you'll be able to recognize that they are uncomfortable. It may be followed by a retching sound, as if your baby's going to vomit or a big cough.

Sometimes, unfortunately, it can also cause your baby to vomit or cry, turn a little bit red in the face, or just have tears in their eyes. And man, it is heartbreaking to watch, for sure. But again, we will see that sometimes your baby remains calm.

The first few times this happens, it might scare them a little bit, but it's really, really important that we remain calm. Unfortunately, in this situation it's more dangerous if we do intervene. Like we talked about, this is a natural protective reflex and our baby has something in their mouth or toy or food or their hand that they push too far back, and now their body is trying to protect them.

So they push the food out, they push their tongue out and try to protect themselves. And sometimes if we go in there to try to fish something out, we can confuse the baby, scare them and actually trigger them to swallow and, God forbid, choke.

So it's really, really hard. But sometimes it's best to watch and wait and not intervene. Sometimes, if we try to scoop something out of their mouth or help them, we can actually scare them and trigger a swallow. And what that means is they could potentially choke. And now we're in a really bad situation.

So it's important that we watch them and know that this is a protective reflex.

And unfortunately, in most situations, they need to work it out. Over time, you will see that they get more comfortable with it and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. In the beginning, it's us who are more concerned.

So it's important that we remember that this is a natural reflex and it will fade, it will get better. The more opportunities that we can allow them to have teethers and toys and stick things in their mouth safely will help them to lessen that gag reflex. One of my families calls this the ‘No Landing Zone’.

And what that means is that there are many babies, when they start eating, that anytime they get anything in the middle of their tongue, it will cause them to gag. And we can't avoid that. But what will happen over time is that the baby will learn that that's kind of more a sensitive spot and over time they'll start to move their tongue from side to side and push that food over.

The more that they do that, the less that we will see them gag. In the meantime, it's unfortunate. It's hard to watch our sweet baby be upset, but it will pass and it will get better.

And now let's talk about the scariest situation of all that I hope you never have to experience. If your baby is actually choking, it will look much different. Your baby will not be able to breathe in or out.

They will hear maybe a wheezing sound, but it will be mostly silent. Their eyes will get really big, as if they are scared and it will look different than gagging. They won't be able to cry or cough or breathe in and out.

Again, it's mostly silent. You may hear a wheezing sound. If we don't intervene right away, your baby's lips may turn blue or they may turn blue altogether and not be able to breathe.

Unfortunately, this is what our training is for in case of emergency, God forbid, I hope we never have to use it. But in this situation, we know that our baby needs our help and we have to intervene. So, one more time, let's look at the differences between gagging and choking.

I want you to save this, screenshot it, save it for a later or share it with a friend because this is really important. If your baby is gagging, there will be typically a quick and loud sound. It will often be followed by a retching sound, as if they're going to vomit and maybe even a cough.

If your baby is very sensitive, sometimes they will vomit or cry or turn red or just have some tears in their eyes.

Remember that this is a natural protective reflex, that their body is trying to protect them and it will fade. And only way that we can get it to go away is for them to get through it with toys and tethers and hands in their mouth.

Soon this will begin to fade. Remember, in this situation we do not want to intervene if our baby is gagging, they need to get through it and they will be able to get the food out. If the food is at the very front of their mouth, yes, you can pull it out, but you don't want to stick your finger in there.

Sometimes what happens is that we scare them and then they could choke. So it's important for us to support them and remain calm, so that if they feel scared, they look at us and then they know that we are calm. If our baby is choking, this will be a silent event.

Your baby might have their eyes wide open, looking scared. They will be unable to cough or breathe in or even cry. You might hear a wheezing sound, as if they're struggling to breathe in or out.

And if we don't intervene in enough time, their lips and their face will start to turn blue. It's important that your CPR and first aid training comes into play immediately. We need to know how to help our baby in this moment.

I'm here for you. And I know that this is so scary. For some families this can be paralyzing and they don't want to work on feeding at all.

But it's important to know that this is a normal and natural experience for your babies to go through. It's hard to watch, but we just have to get through it. Babies will get better and over time that gag reflex will move back.

While we're having this conversation, it's important to talk about one myth. There is a myth that people say if you start with purees, your baby won't gag. But baby lead weaning is all about gagging and neither of those things are true.

Unfortunately, no matter which path you choose to take or whatever plan you have for feeding, most babies will gag and it's something temporary and we will get through it. If you're looking for more support feeding your baby, join me in the Little Foundations Feeding Academy where I support parents and caregivers with my online course and community with everything about feeding from birth into toddler years. Let me hold your hand and support you through this new adventure.

I can't wait to see you in there. You can always reach out to me.

I want to support you during this journey. You can reach out to me here on Instagram at Little Foundations. I know this is scary, but I'm so glad that you're here.

You're doing a great job. For more baby videos and support, watch this one.