Pyloric Stenosis- a Scare for Parents of Newborns, but Effectively Cured

First this article will describe what pyloric stenosis is , and then I will give you my experience with it when my son (2 months old at the time) was diagnosed with it. Pyloric Stenosis is when the opening of the pyloris (the lower part of the abdomen that leads to the lower intestine) is too small to allow food to pass from the stomach to the small intestine. This is caused by the muscles around the pyloris being too large.

How common is pyloric stenosis and who is at the most risk of having the condition?--- Well the good news it happens in only about 3 out of every 1000 newborns, this means it's 3/10 of a percent chance your child will have this condition. It is 4 times more likely to occur in males than females, so the chances for females having the condition are even rarer than .3% of the time.

What signs will there be that I should look out for?--- The most common is "projectile vomiting". Now just because your child has an occasional case of projectile vomitting does not mean they necessarily have pyloric stenosis (and more often than not they do not have it). Acid reflux is not uncommon in newborns and sometimes people will think their child has a more serious condition when that's all it is. Actually that's what our pediatrician thought my son's condition was at first and tried to treat it that way. But when after a month it continued it became clear we were dealing with something more serious. Also, let me give you an idea of the type of projectile vomitting you should be looking for. This will happen with almost every bottle feeding, if not every one I would say about 75% of them. Also the "projectile" is meaning it will go several feet across the room. If it's just occasional it's more likely to be acid reflux.