How to Burp a Baby

Series Summary

Early childhood is a special time for both kids and parents. It is widely held that during the first few years of a person’s life, some of the most important physical and emotional aspects of development are set in place. Young children are dependent upon their mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles or grandparents to meet their needs during this time. To grow into healthy, happy adults, kids require many things, including safe surroundings, a good diet, peer interaction and a variety of experiences. In this free video series on baby care, the mother of three young children explains how to care for newborns and infants. Find out how to burp a baby and about common infant skin conditions. Learn about introducing solid food to babies and how to buy breast milk. Get information on the ingredients in baby formula and advice on getting enough sleep with a newborn. Improve your knowledge and child care abilities with these free videos.

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Erica, and we are in Salt Lake City, Utah. And we are going to be talking about how to burp a baby. I have a doll here and I'm going to show you. First you have to put them over your shoulder like this, and just kind of pat their back upward, in this motion. And sometimes you can rub their back a little bit, to kind of move the gas up. But always move up, so the gas goes up. And then just, you can bounce them a little bit. But just pat their back, not too hard, lightly. If you hear yourself patting on, that's OK, but just not too hard so you don't hurt them. And then, just kind of bounce them a little bit. Burping helps to get the gas out, especially when you move in an upward motion. It moves the gas up out of their body, and if you lean them over, it reduces the chance of them vomiting or choking on, if they have spit up or something like that. Another way to burp a baby is you can turn them, lay their head in the crease of your arm. And hold between their legs, so have each leg on the outside, and burp them like this and just kind of rock them a little bit. And keep going in the upward motion as you do that."