Wind and burping your baby

Babies swallow air when they feed, and trapped wind can make them uncomfortable, squirmy or unsettled — so burping is a handy skill to have. It’s simple once you get the hang of it, and here’s how (plus a reassurance that not every baby needs a big performance of it).

Why babies get windy. During feeding, babies take in some air along with the milk — more so if they gulp, feed fast, or aren’t well latched (breast) or the teat flow is too fast (bottle). That air can sit in their tummy and cause discomfort until it comes up as a burp (or, later, out the other end). Bottle-fed babies often need burping a bit more than breastfed babies.

When to burp. A good rhythm is to burp your baby during a feed (for example when switching breasts or partway through a bottle) and after a feed. If your baby seems content and settled, you don’t have to force it — but a windy, squirmy baby usually appreciates the chance to bring it up.

How to burp your baby. The aim is gentle, upright, with a bit of support and patience:

• Over your shoulder — hold your baby upright against your chest/shoulder, supporting their head, and gently pat or rub their back.
• Sitting on your lap — sit them upright, support their chin/chest with one hand (not their neck), and rub or pat their back with the other.
• Face-down across your lap — lay them tummy-down over your legs, supporting the head, and gently rub their back.

Gentle upward rubbing or soft pats usually do it. Have a muslin cloth ready, as a little milk often comes up with the burp (that’s normal posseting).

If no burp comes. Not every feed produces a burp, and that’s fine — if none comes after a few minutes and your baby is comfortable, you can stop. Sometimes a change of position, or a little tummy time later, helps trapped wind move along. Lying them down and bringing their knees up gently can help lower wind pass.

Signs of trapped wind. A windy baby may squirm, pull up their legs, grunt, arch, or seem briefly unsettled during or after feeds, easing once the wind comes up or out. This is normal and different from ongoing distress. Gentle tummy massage and “bicycle legs” can help.

When to check with your child health nurse. Wind itself is normal, but see your child health nurse or GP if your baby is very unsettled or in pain, not feeding or gaining weight well, vomiting forcefully, or you’re worried — sometimes what looks like wind is reflux, a feeding issue, or something else worth looking at. There’s a separate guide on reflux and unsettled babies.

Burping is a small, useful part of feeding, not a high-stakes task — hold your baby upright, rub or pat gently, keep a cloth handy, and don’t stress if no burp appears. Most wind sorts itself out, and you’ll quickly learn your baby’s own rhythm. If they seem genuinely uncomfortable a lot, your child health nurse can help you work out why.