My newborn won’t burp. Do I actually need to keep trying?

Short answer

No.

And if your baby has woken, had a feed and fallen peacefully back to sleep, you do not need to wake them up again just to produce a burp.

I wish somebody had told me this the first time around. I once paid actual money for an extremely long PDF about burping techniques because my baby would not burp on command, and I assumed I was doing something wrong.

Reader, I was not doing something wrong, and my baby was not broken because she did not burp according to the instruction book that I studied for far longer than I care to admit.

Does my newborn need to burp after every feed?

Babies do not always need to burp after a feed.

Let’s face it, do you burp after every meal? And if you’re going to burp, must you be sitting upright or will it happen regardless?

Raising Children Network says babies usually do not need to burp after every feed and often bring up swallowed air without help. If you do want to try, a few minutes is generally enough.

Pamela Douglas, from Possums, goes further. Her advice is that routinely burping babies or holding them upright after feeds is unnecessary and can actually make life harder by waking a baby who has already settled.

Her night-time advice is refreshingly simple: if baby wakes, feeds and falls back to sleep, you do not need to burp them, hold them upright or change their nappy unless there is actually a reason to.

That would have saved me a lot of time and angst! By the time our second daughter arrived, I was not waking anyone to change a nappy overnight unless it was absolutely necessary!

What if they actually seem uncomfortable?

Then sure, try something.

An upright cuddle, a gentle rub on the back or a change of position might help if your baby seems squirmy or uncomfortable.

But you are responding to the baby, not completing the burping portion of the feeding program.

If nothing happens after a few minutes and your baby is perfectly content, there is no unfinished task.

And if your baby has fallen asleep? Leave the sleeping baby alone.

When it is worth getting help

Burping is not the answer to every unsettled baby.

If feeding itself seems difficult, your baby is consistently distressed during feeds, weight gain is a concern, vomiting is forceful or unusual, or something simply feels wrong, that deserves a proper look rather than increasingly elaborate burping techniques.

A calm baby who did not burp has not failed to complete the feed. And frankly, a calm baby is a parenting win, so celebrate by enjoying your beautiful calm baby, and if it’s 3AM, some sleep!