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Why Does My Baby Refuse To Be Fed?

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Posted on Wed, 26 Feb 2014
Question: My 2 month old baby cries all day and refuses to feed. He has been doing this for last one month. He is bottle fed and would push the bottle out of his mouth. He can go 12-15 hours without feed. I can feed him a little only when he sleeps. He also vomits everyday almost. Please suggest if this sounds like GERD.
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Answered by Dr. Dr.Albana Sejdini (43 minutes later)
Brief Answer: Advised to send your baby to ER as soon as posible Detailed Answer: Hi, The case of your baby is an emergency. It is not normal for a 2 month old baby to cry all the day, not to feed and to vomit. The symptoms refer to some obstacles or other GI problems including GERD. I suggest to send him immediately to the ER (pediatric) in order to further evaluate his condition. Further tests are also needed to undergo: - abdominal ultrasound (to look for obstruction or other intestinal problems) - urine analysis - complete blood profile - stool culture At the end, your baby need a specialized medical attention; so, I strongly advise to send him to (pediatric) ER as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I advise to: - raise his head (including shoulder-neck and head) when sleeping - when you feed him, wait until he burps, then, lay it down - have patience when you feed him to avoid swallowing too much air. Hope it was of help! Dr.Alba
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Follow up: Dr. Dr.Albana Sejdini (32 minutes later)
Dr. XXXXXXX Thanks for your response. The baby in question is my sisters baby who lives in india and is clueless on what to do. The doctors have prescribed colimex medicine which doesn't seem to be helping. Before every feed he has to be make asleep and then he will drink some while sleeping but not a drop if he is awake. He somehow can relate feeding to some type if pain so he refuses the bottle. Some days he refuses to sleep and would go without feed for extended hours. He was born premature at 8 months gestation a little under 5 pounds and had trouble maintaining his sugar levels for initial two weeks. Doctors refuse to believe that he is not feeding and just say that when he will be hungry he will feed. We are worried as we have seen one more baby in our family go through the exact same cycle and he was later diagnosed for GERD and prescribed medicines. But the damage was done as he can associate feeding with pain and so still sleep feeds being 13 months old. Now that he doesn't sleep so much, he doesn't eat much. The 13 month old baby has vomited everyday until a few months back. He vomits at the sight of someone showing him the spoon so he still gets liquids from the bottle and has never tasted cereals from spoon and bowl. We are at our wits end. Please suggest.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr.Albana Sejdini (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: Please refer to the following answer... Detailed Answer: Hi back, Thank you for following up. As mentioned earlier, the case of your nephew is an emergency. It is a must to run the tests as mentioned earlier first. If everything will result normal, then, and only then, we can say that there is nothing to worry about. Please advise your sister to keep a good hygiene when preparing milk and of his mouth. Only the test results will determine his problems. He will keep crying because he is hungry, but the health problem he has does not allow him to eat, putting inside a closed circle. That's why immediate specialized medical attention is needed. Hope it was of help! Dr. Alba
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr.Albana Sejdini

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2006

Answered : 7300 Questions

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Why Does My Baby Refuse To Be Fed?

Brief Answer: Advised to send your baby to ER as soon as posible Detailed Answer: Hi, The case of your baby is an emergency. It is not normal for a 2 month old baby to cry all the day, not to feed and to vomit. The symptoms refer to some obstacles or other GI problems including GERD. I suggest to send him immediately to the ER (pediatric) in order to further evaluate his condition. Further tests are also needed to undergo: - abdominal ultrasound (to look for obstruction or other intestinal problems) - urine analysis - complete blood profile - stool culture At the end, your baby need a specialized medical attention; so, I strongly advise to send him to (pediatric) ER as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I advise to: - raise his head (including shoulder-neck and head) when sleeping - when you feed him, wait until he burps, then, lay it down - have patience when you feed him to avoid swallowing too much air. Hope it was of help! Dr.Alba