Acid Reflux Causes Choking in Newborn Babies

Ten Days After He was Born, Choked and Turned Blue

Would you know what to do if your healthy, beautiful, brand new baby was choking? Thank goodness I was a lifeguard at one point and got the training for infant back blows! Only ten days after his arrival, Mickey turned blue in his bouncer. Fortunately, I knew what to do. I used Infant Back Blows. As soon as his airway was open he let out a horrific scream. "Thank goodness!", I thought, as I was wiping away the tears.
   
Acid reflux, also known as "colic," causes choking in newborns. I would like to make a distinction between the two. Acid reflux is a specific condition. "Colic" is a number of symptoms under one diagnosis. My son was labeled as both "Acid Reflux, and Colic." Acid Reflux begins about 10 days after birth. His colic symptons began about 12 days after his birth. There are few distinctions between acid and colic syptoms but one I would like to make involves choking while laying on one's back.
   
Mickey arrived at 7:31a.m. on July 17, 2004. It was a Saturday. He arrived with no complications. He was strong. There were no signs that he might have Acid Reflux or have symptoms associated with colic. About ten days after his birth he had his first choking incident. His infant, vibrating seat was turned on. Mickey and I were settling into a nap after our breastfeeding session. I laid on the couch, but opened my eyes once more to look at my boy. From where I lay I could only see two little red, clenched fists. Suddenly the fists were flailing around him. I jumped off the couch to see what was the matter. His head and face turned a purplish blue. I immediately assumed he was choking, put him face down on my forearm and gave an Infant Back Blow. It took three back blows to clear his airway. He couldn't breath for about 10-15 seconds.