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Feeding · birth to 12 months

Baby spit-up: normal or not?

Checked against current guidance on October 8, 2026. General information, not medical advice.

Illustration of a parent burping a baby over the shoulder.

The 10-second answer

  • Spit-up is normal: at least half of babies spit up every day in the first months.784
  • A baby who spits up but is content and growing well needs no treatment. It usually stops by 12 months.1647
  • Burp halfway through and at the end of a feed, and keep your baby upright for 20-30 minutes after.216
  • Green or bloody vomit: go to an emergency department now. Forceful (projectile) vomiting after feeds, or repeated vomiting under 12 weeks: get medical advice now.7934

General information from published guidance, not a diagnosis or medical advice for your baby. If you are worried, call your doctor, midwife or local health line, whatever this page says. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

What did you see?

Common signs, and what the guidance says to do

Usually normal

Small, frequent spit-ups in a happy baby are typical, and they usually improve as babies grow.174

Usually normal

A little milk can look like a lot on a cloth. Spit-up in a baby who is content, feeding well and growing is usually not a concern.47

Watch and log it

This may be reflux discomfort or a fast flow. Try smaller, paced feeds and more burping. Talk to your doctor if it happens at most feeds.6111

Guidance: get medical advice now

Especially at 2-8 weeks, forceful vomiting after feeds can be pyloric stenosis, a narrowing at the stomach exit that needs treatment. Get medical advice now: call your doctor right away (in the UK, an urgent GP appointment or 111).7314

Guidance: call emergency services now

Green vomit can mean a blocked gut, which needs treatment fast. Go to an emergency department or call your local emergency number now.7934

Guidance: call emergency services now

Blood in vomit, or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, needs checking straight away: go to an emergency department or call your local emergency number.7934

Guidance: get medical advice now

Babies lose fluid fast. Under 12 weeks, vomiting twice or more (not spit-up) needs checking: get medical advice now. Older babies: call your doctor today, and get help now if there is no wet diaper for 8 hours.394

Guidance: call emergency services now

Call your local emergency number.7

3 burping positions

  1. A father holds his newborn upright against his chest, the baby's chin resting on a burp cloth over his shoulder, while he pats the baby's back.Step 1 of 3

    Over the shoulder

    Hold your baby upright with their chin resting on your shoulder. Support them with one hand and gently pat or rub the back with the other.2

  2. Step 2 of 3

    Sitting on your lap

    Sit your baby on your lap facing sideways. Support the chest and chin with one hand, fingers on the jaw, not the throat. Lean them slightly forward and pat the back.2

  3. A grandmother lays a newborn tummy-down across her knees, the baby's head raised and its chin supported in her hand, while she rubs its back.Step 3 of 3

    Face down across your lap

    Lay your baby on their tummy across your knees, head a little higher than the chest and supported. Gently rub or pat the back.2

Log feeds in Ella to see if spit-up follows big feeds. Open Ella

Get medical help now if

  • green or yellow-green vomit7934
  • blood or coffee-ground-looking vomit394
  • your baby is floppy, very sleepy, or has a swollen, hard tummy346
  • choking, pauses in breathing or color change during or after feeds7
  • forceful (projectile) vomiting after feeds, or repeated vomiting in a baby under 12 weeks7314
  • a baby under 1 month who spits up and seems unwell in any way7

Call your doctor or midwife today if

  • spit-up seems to hurt your baby at most feeds6
  • your baby isn't gaining weight, or has fewer wet diapers6
  • your baby often refuses feeds, or cries and arches at most feeds (in the UK, an urgent GP appointment or 111)64
  • spit-up starts after 6 months, or continues after 12 months45

If your baby stops breathing, turns blue or grey, is floppy or cannot be woken, call your local emergency number now.

The details

Why babies spit up

The valve between the stomach and the food pipe is still loose in young babies, and their stomachs are small. When the stomach is full, or when a baby moves, cries or burps, some milk comes back up. Spit-up usually peaks around 4 months and stops by 12 months.

164

Reflux or reflux disease?

Reflux is milk coming back up, and it is normal. Doctors call it reflux disease (GERD) only when it causes problems such as poor weight gain, feeding refusal, breathing problems or a lot of pain. Only a small number of babies need treatment.

567

What helps
  • Smaller, more frequent feeds
  • Paced bottle feeding, with a slower-flow nipple if milk pours out
  • Burping halfway through and at the end of feeds
  • Keeping your baby upright for 20-30 minutes after feeding
  • Loose diapers and clothes around the tummy

162711

What not to do

Don't raise the head of the crib or use a wedge or inclined sleeper: babies should always sleep flat on their back, even with reflux. Don't add cereal to bottles, or switch formula, without talking to your doctor.

245106

How often to burp

Burp breastfed babies when they switch sides, and bottle-fed babies every 60-90 ml or so. If your baby doesn't burp after a minute or two, carry on feeding: not every baby needs to burp every time.

27

Questions parents ask

Is it normal for a baby to spit up after every feed?

It can be, if your baby is content, feeding well and gaining weight. Talk to your doctor if your baby seems in pain, refuses feeds or isn't growing.467

What's the difference between spit-up and vomit?

Spit-up flows out gently, often with a burp. Vomiting is forceful and shoots out. Repeated forceful vomiting needs a doctor.13

When does spit-up stop?

It usually peaks around 4 months and stops by 12 months, as the muscles mature and your baby sits up and eats solid food.648

Should I feed my baby again after they spit up?

If your baby seems hungry, you can offer a feed. If not, wait until the next feed.12

Ella

Have feed times ready for the doctor

Log every feed with one tap and add a note when spit-up is bad, so you can show the doctor when feeds and spit-ups happened.

Start a free feeding logHow Ella tracks this

Sources

  1. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Why babies spit up
  2. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Burping, hiccups and spitting up
  3. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Vomiting in infants
  4. NHS: Reflux in babies
  5. NASPGHAN/ESPGHAN: Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux clinical practice guidelines (2018)
  6. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: GERD and reflux in infants and children
  7. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Spitting up (reflux) (symptom checker, Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines)
  8. NIDDK (NIH): Definition and facts for GER and GERD in infants
  9. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Vomiting without diarrhea (symptom checker, Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines)
  10. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: How to keep your sleeping baby safe
  11. NHS: Bottle feeding advice
  12. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: How often and how much should your baby eat?

Guidance can differ between countries. Where it does, we show both. Follow your own doctor or health service.

Checked against current guidance on October 8, 2026. General information, not medical advice. Written by the Ella team at Muchita AI from published guidance by the AAP, NHS, NICE, WHO and CDC, with AI-assisted drafting and translation checked against those sources by our team. These organisations have not reviewed or endorsed this page. General information, not a diagnosis or medical advice. If you are worried about your baby, trust your instinct and call a doctor.

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