Gas is common during infancy. Babies naturally swallow air while feeding and crying, and their digestive systems are still developing.
A baby may grunt, squirm, pull their legs toward their abdomen, pass gas frequently, or become briefly fussy. These behaviors do not always mean the baby needs medicine or has a digestive disorder.
For most healthy babies, the safest first steps involve reviewing feeding position, bottle flow, feeding amount, and burping rather than giving tea, gripe water, supplements, or medicine.
Medical notice: This article provides general educational information. It does not replace advice from your baby’s pediatrician or another qualified healthcare professional. Ask the pediatrician before giving an infant medicine, herbal products, supplements, water, juice, or other remedies.
What Can You Give a Baby for Gas?
In many cases, a baby does not need to be given anything specifically for gas.
Continue offering the baby’s normal breast milk or properly prepared infant formula. Then focus on helping the baby swallow less air and feed at a comfortable pace.
Depending on the baby’s age and symptoms, a pediatrician may discuss:
- Changes to feeding technique
- A different bottle nipple flow
- Treatment for an identified feeding problem
- A formula change when there is a specific reason
- Simethicone drops in selected circumstances
- Further evaluation when symptoms suggest reflux, allergy, constipation, or illness
Do not give a newborn or young infant herbal tea, sugar water, juice, honey, or homemade remedies for gas. These products can replace needed nutrition, expose the baby to unnecessary ingredients, or create additional risks.
Is Gas Normal in Babies?
Yes. Babies commonly pass gas and make digestive noises.
They swallow air when they:
- Feed quickly
- Cry
- Use a bottle with an unsuitable flow
- Have difficulty coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing
- Continue feeding after becoming full
- Lose their latch repeatedly while nursing
- Feed in a position that allows more air into the nipple
Some babies appear uncomfortable immediately before passing gas but return to normal afterward.
The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that gas is often blamed for crying even though passing gas is common in babies. Crying itself can lead to more swallowed air, making it difficult to tell whether gas caused the crying or resulted from it.
Help Your Baby Swallow Less Air
Check the feeding position
Hold a bottle-fed baby in a supported, semi-upright position rather than feeding them while they are lying flat.
Tilt the bottle so milk fills the nipple. When the nipple contains air instead of milk, the baby may swallow more air while sucking.
For breastfeeding, make sure the baby has a comfortable latch. Clicking sounds, repeated slipping from the breast, coughing, or struggling during feeds may indicate that feeding support would be helpful.
A pediatrician or qualified lactation professional can assess persistent latch or feeding difficulties.
Check the nipple flow
A nipple that flows too quickly may cause gulping, coughing, leaking milk, or difficulty coordinating breathing.
A flow that is too slow may cause frustration, forceful sucking, or very long feeding sessions.
Signs that the flow may be too fast include:
- Gulping
- Coughing or choking
- Milk leaking from the corners of the mouth
- Pulling away repeatedly
- Finishing the bottle unusually quickly
A slower-flow nipple or brief pauses during bottle feeding may help the baby organize sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
Try paced bottle feeding
Paced feeding allows the baby more control over the flow of milk.
Hold the bottle more horizontally rather than pointing it straight downward. Allow pauses when the baby stops sucking, turns away, relaxes their hands, or appears to need a break.
Do not encourage the baby to finish every bottle after showing signs of fullness. Overfeeding can contribute to spit-up, discomfort, and fussiness.
Burp During and After Feeding
Burping may help release air swallowed during feeding.
Try burping the baby:
- During a natural pause
- When switching breasts
- Partway through a bottle
- After the feeding
- When the baby becomes fussy or begins gulping
Hold the baby upright against your chest or support them in a seated position while gently rubbing or patting their back.
Some babies burp easily, while others do not. It is not harmful when a baby does not burp after every feeding, and prolonged or forceful patting is unnecessary.
Keep the Baby Upright While Awake
Holding the baby upright for a short period after feeding may help with swallowed air and immediate spit-up.
The caregiver must remain awake and attentive. When the baby needs to sleep, place them flat on their back on a firm, level sleep surface.
Do not use:
- A pillow
- A crib wedge
- An inclined sleeper
- A nursing pillow
- A baby lounger
- A swing or car seat for routine sleep
Do not fall asleep while holding the baby upright on your chest, a couch, an armchair, or an adult bed.
Try Gentle Movement While the Baby Is Awake
Gentle movement may help some babies relax while passing gas.
You can try:
Bicycle-leg movements
Place the awake baby on their back on a safe surface. Gently move their legs in a slow cycling motion without forcing the hips or knees.
Bringing the knees gently inward
With the baby lying on their back and awake, gently move both bent knees toward the abdomen and release them.
Stop when the baby resists, cries more, or appears uncomfortable.
Supervised tummy time
Tummy time while the baby is awake and continuously supervised supports normal strength and motor development. The slight pressure on the abdomen may also help some babies pass gas.
Tummy time is not a treatment that should be forced, and a baby should never be left to sleep on their stomach.
Does Baby Massage Help With Gas?
Some babies find gentle abdominal touch calming.
Using warm hands, you may lightly stroke the abdomen in a clockwise direction. Use minimal pressure and stop when the baby seems uncomfortable.
Do not massage the abdomen when it is:
- Hard or significantly swollen
- Painful to touch
- Accompanied by repeated vomiting
- Associated with blood in the stool
- Accompanied by unusual sleepiness or illness
A swollen, firm abdomen—especially with vomiting or difficulty passing stool—needs professional evaluation rather than massage.
Do Infant Gas Drops Work?
Many infant gas drops contain simethicone. Simethicone works by combining small gas bubbles into larger bubbles that may be easier to pass.
However, studies have not established that simethicone reliably reduces infant crying or colic. A randomized controlled trial found that it performed no better than a placebo for infantile colic, and an evidence review reached a similar conclusion.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes that evidence supporting simethicone for infant gas or colic is not definitive.
Before using gas drops:
- Ask the pediatrician whether they are appropriate
- Confirm the baby’s age
- Check the complete ingredient list
- Use only a product specifically intended for infants
- Follow the exact professional or label instructions
- Do not combine several gas or colic products
- Stop and seek advice if symptoms worsen
Do not provide a dose based on another baby’s age, weight, or experience.
Does Gripe Water Help With Gas?
Research has not established gripe water as an effective treatment for infant gas or colic.
Gripe water is not one standardized product. Different brands may contain combinations of:
- Ginger
- Fennel
- Chamomile
- Dill
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Sugar or sweeteners
- Flavorings
- Other botanical ingredients
The amount and type of ingredients can vary significantly.
The FDA has issued warning letters involving some gripe-water products marketed with unapproved claims that they treat infant gas, colic, reflux, and related conditions.
Do not assume that gripe water is proven safe or effective because it is described as natural, organic, gentle, or widely sold.
Never give a product containing honey to a child younger than twelve months.
Should You Give a Baby Probiotics for Gas?
Do not routinely give an infant probiotic supplements for ordinary gas without discussing them with the pediatrician.
Probiotics are strain-specific. Evidence involving one particular strain and condition cannot be applied automatically to every probiotic product or every gassy baby.
Research involving probiotics for infant colic has produced mixed results, and benefits reported in some studies have often involved specific strains and particular groups of breastfed infants. Probiotics have not been proven to be a universal gas treatment.
Additional caution is needed for babies who:
- Were born prematurely
- Have a very low birth weight
- Have a weakened immune system
- Are seriously ill
- Have central lines or other medical devices
- Are being treated in a hospital
The FDA has warned that preterm infants given live probiotic organisms may be at risk of serious invasive infections. No probiotic product has been approved by the FDA as a drug or biological product for infants of any age.
Do not add probiotic powder or yogurt to a newborn’s bottle.
Should a Breastfeeding Parent Change Their Diet?
Do not automatically remove many foods from your diet because the baby passes gas.
Foods that cause gas in an adult do not necessarily produce gas in breast milk. Unnecessary food restrictions can make it harder for a breastfeeding parent to meet their nutritional needs.
A pediatrician may consider a supervised dietary trial when the baby has symptoms that suggest a food-protein reaction, such as:
- Blood or mucus in the stool
- Persistent vomiting
- Significant eczema
- Feeding difficulty
- Repeated diarrhea
- Poor weight gain
- Symptoms affecting more than one body system
Gas alone is usually not enough to diagnose an allergy.
Do not eliminate dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, or other major foods without discussing the symptoms and a suitable nutrition plan with a healthcare professional.
Should You Change Infant Formula?
Do not repeatedly switch formulas for ordinary gas.
A baby may need time to adjust to normal digestion and feeding. Changing products frequently can make it difficult to determine whether anything has improved.
Before switching, review:
- Feeding amount
- Nipple flow
- Bottle position
- Feeding speed
- Burping
- Formula preparation
- Weight gain
- Stool appearance
- Vomiting or spit-up
- Skin symptoms
A pediatrician may recommend another formula when there is evidence of an allergy, feeding intolerance, significant reflux, poor growth, or another medical concern.
Lactose intolerance is uncommon in healthy full-term infants and usually should not be assumed based only on gas.
Prepare every formula using the exact water-to-powder ratio on its container. Do not dilute it to reduce gas or make it stronger to help the baby feel full.
Is Gas the Same as Colic?
No.
Gas refers to air in the digestive tract. Colic is a pattern of prolonged crying in an otherwise healthy young baby.
A baby with colic may:
- Cry intensely
- Be difficult to console
- Pull their legs inward
- Clench their fists
- Become red in the face
- Pass gas while crying
Passing gas during a crying episode does not prove that gas caused the crying. Babies swallow more air when they cry.
Colic typically improves as the baby matures, but persistent or unusual crying should be discussed with the pediatrician.
Gas Is Not Always Constipation
Babies may grunt, strain, turn red, or draw up their legs while learning to coordinate bowel movements.
This does not necessarily mean constipation, especially when the stool remains soft.
Constipation is more closely related to hard, dry, difficult-to-pass stools than to the number of days between bowel movements.
Do not give water, juice, suppositories, herbal products, or other constipation remedies to a young infant without pediatric guidance.
When to Contact the Pediatrician
Contact the baby’s healthcare provider when gas or fussiness occurs with:
- Feeding refusal
- Weak sucking
- Repeated coughing or choking during feeds
- Poor weight gain
- Persistent or forceful vomiting
- Green vomit
- Blood in vomit or stool
- Frequent diarrhea
- Hard, dry stools
- A swollen or firm abdomen
- Significantly fewer wet diapers
- Unusual sleepiness
- A major change in crying or behavior
- Symptoms that continue or worsen
Pain with feeding, recurring vomiting, blood or mucus in the stool, and poor growth may indicate a condition that needs evaluation rather than an ordinary gas problem.
A baby younger than three months with a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher needs prompt medical assessment.
Seek emergency help when the baby:
- Has severe breathing difficulty
- Develops blue or gray coloring
- Is limp or unresponsive
- Cannot be awakened normally
- Has a seizure
- Appears seriously ill
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I give my newborn for gas?
Do not independently give a newborn medicine, gripe water, herbal tea, probiotics, water, or juice. Continue normal breast milk or properly prepared infant formula and discuss persistent discomfort with the pediatrician.
Do gas drops work immediately?
Simethicone products are marketed for gas, but studies have not shown reliable improvement in infant colic or crying. Ask the pediatrician before using them.
Is gripe water safe for newborns?
Gripe-water products contain different ingredients and have not been proven to relieve infant gas or colic. Do not give one to a newborn without professional guidance.
Can I give my baby water for gas?
Do not give a young infant water as a gas remedy. Breast milk or properly prepared formula should provide the baby’s routine fluid and nutrition.
Can formula cause gas?
All babies can swallow air during feeding. A formula change may help when a specific allergy or feeding problem is identified, but gas alone does not prove that a formula is unsuitable.
Does burping prevent gas?
Burping may release swallowed air and can reduce spit-up for some babies. Some babies do not burp after every feed, and that is not automatically a problem.
Can I give a baby yogurt for gas?
Yogurt is not appropriate for a newborn and should not be used as a gas treatment. For babies who have started complementary foods, age-appropriate yogurt may be offered as food when suitable, but it is not the same as a prescribed probiotic treatment.
Does pulling the legs upward mean gas?
Babies may pull their legs upward when passing gas, having a bowel movement, crying, or experiencing another type of discomfort. Consider the full pattern of feeding, stool, vomiting, growth, and behavior.
When does infant gas improve?
Gas and digestive noises often become less noticeable as feeding skills and the digestive system mature. Contact the pediatrician when symptoms are severe, interfere with feeding or growth, or occur with warning signs.
The Bottom Line
Most babies do not need medicine or a special drink for gas.
Start with safe, practical steps:
- Review feeding position
- Use an appropriate nipple flow
- Allow pauses during bottle feeding
- Avoid encouraging the baby to finish every bottle
- Burp during natural feeding breaks
- Hold the baby upright while awake
- Try gentle movement or supervised tummy time
- Discuss persistent symptoms before changing formula
Do not independently use gripe water, herbal tea, probiotics, gas medicine, juice, or homemade remedies. Seek medical advice when symptoms affect feeding, growth, hydration, stool, vomiting, alertness, or breathing.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Gas Relief for Babies
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Baby Burping, Hiccups and Spit-Up
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Responding to Your Baby’s Cries
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Bottle-Feeding Basics
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Abdominal Pain in Infants
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Gripe Water Warning Letter
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Probiotic Risks for Preterm Infants
- PubMed: Simethicone in the Treatment of Infant Colic
