Hi 
I also thought that thickening went out of vogue quite some time ago although pre-thickened ABM is marketed for reflux in New Zealand. The study below is often quoted by Speech Language Therapists as relates to thickening. If there is severe reflux at that early age there should certainly be investigations around other causes e.g. pyloric stenosis, tongue tie, allergy? Introducing cereal at this early stage sounds pretty risky to me. 

J Pediatr. 1992 Dec;121(6):913-5.
Thickened feedings as a cause of increased coughing when used as therapy for gastroesophageal reflux in infants.
Orenstein SR, Shalaby TM, Putnam PE.

I have always been very cautious about introducing thickening, even with gum thickeners, before the optimal age of introduction of solids (6 months) and  this study confirms that there is significant risk.

J Perinatol. 2012 Feb;32(2):150-2. doi: 10.1038/jp.2011.105.
Development of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants receiving thickened feeds using SimplyThick®.
Woods CW, Oliver T, Lewis K, Yang Q.
Source
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Brenner Children's Hospital, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
Abstract
SimplyThick(®)(ST) has been safely used as a thickener to treat adults who have dysphagia, but the safety of this product has not been studied in premature infants. Xanthan gum is the ingredient in ST that results in thickening and also is an effective laxative. We recently began using ST to treat premature infants with dysphagia and/or gastroesophageal reflux. We describe three cases of premature infants who developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after they were fed ST. Unlike classic NEC, all three cases presented with late-onset colonic NEC.

Loraine Hamm
New Zealand

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