I agree that burping is a HUGE issue in some families.  

 

I've seen a grandma fretting because she couldn't get the baby to burp, even after thumping for over half an hour. I suggested that maybe the baby didn't NEED to burp, since breastfed babies swallow less air, and got one of "those" looks that told me I'd better respect the wisdom of my elders. 

 

My own mother -a maternity nurse- proudly demonstrated how babies prefer firm, confident handling when she pounded my baby's back until it made me cringe, and made him vomit. 

 

 I've seen a mom discreetly nurse her baby so that nobody even noticed, until she lifted the baby to loudly thump his back. 

 

Babies who've fallen blissfully asleep at the breast are woken for their burping ritual. Lack of burping gets blamed for fussiness, which leads to MORE, longer, firmer thumping. And more worrying.

 

I could never understand why it was necessary. I was taught in grade-school science class that hot air rises, so if there's any inside a belly, I figure it's going to rise to the top, too. No other mammals burp their babies. Puppies and kittens burp as they move about, and I've had a baby goat belch in my face, unassisted. I think back-thumping is just a way of passing the time while the hot air rises rises by itself, coincidentally escaping between thumps. It also gives those wisened elders the opportunity to feel that they have accomplished a worthwhile task when they are rewarded with a loud belch.

 

I quit burping babies with my first, when I realized that when I put him upright on my hip and continued on with whatever task was at hand my baby would burp on his own while I ignored him. 

 

 

Sheila Stubbs 
mom of six


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