When hugging your baby or holding your ear close to the baby's stomach, you may have heard a roar coming from his stomach. Maybe you are curious about what that sound means. Is it normal for a baby's stomach to sound, or is it a sign of disease? To find out more, see the following review.
Baby's stomach sounds a sign that the digestive system is healthy
According to University of Iowa Stead Family Children 's Hospital, the roar that you hear coming out of your baby's stomach is actually normal. The sound comes from the bowel movement to squeeze and push the food in to be digested and the rest "processed" into feces. Moreover, the structure of the human intestine is actually similar to a long hollow tunnel, so that a rumbling sound will emerge. This is why you can hear the baby's stomach sound even though it may not be very clear.
Babies who eat fermented foods or nuts also make their stomachs ring. This happens because normal bacteria that live in the intestines eat the sugar produced from these foods. Then, the bacteria will emit gas as a side effect of the digestive process of the bacteria itself.
In essence, the baby's stomach that is ringing is normal and indicates that the digestive system is working properly. The sound can also appear when the baby is starving. Just like adults, an empty baby stomach will ring because of the emptying of the intestine. This is actually a signal from the brain that babies need food.
However, it can also be a sign of disease
Abdominal sounds can indicate a disease. Therefore, doctors often put a stethoscope on our stomach when checking the condition of our body.
In normal cases, abdominal sounds in the baby will decrease and eventually stop when the baby sleeps. However, if there is a change in sound in the baby's stomach after eating especially accompanied by the emergence of other symptoms, it could be the presence of an illness. Characteristics of a baby's stomach abnormal sounds usually sound irregular, decrease or increase in loudness.
Here are some conditions that cause changes in the sound in the baby's stomach, such as:
- The sound of the baby's stomach hardens. This baby's stomach sound can be heard sometimes without a stethoscope. This can be a sign that the baby is experiencing diarrhea, Crohn's disease, food allergies, infection of the intestine, and ulcerative colitis (inflammation of the large intestine that causes bleeding gut).
- The sound of the baby's stomach decreases. The sound of a baby's stomach that becomes more sluggish or reduced than usual especially after eating can indicate the presence of disease. The possibility of the baby experiencing constipation or constipation and inflammation of the intestine. If the baby's stomach does not ring at all the possibility of the baby experiencing intestinal blockage (ileus)
- Abdominal sounds increase then decrease. This can be a sign of intestinal rupture or death of intestinal tissue in infants (necrosis).
If there are things that have been mentioned and accompanied by other symptoms, especially the baby becomes uncomfortable and often cries, immediately check his health to the doctor. The doctor will evaluate the sound of the baby's stomach sounds with symptoms of exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, and defecation activities. For further examination, the baby will undergo a scan test on the abdomen, blood tests, and endoscopy to get the right diagnosis and treatment.