Deciding that something isn’t quite right is probably one of the most stressful decisions to go through with a new baby. The symptoms of reflux can be very frightening for a parent to witness. Probably you have already been told you have a ‘sicky baby’ or a ‘fussy feeder’ by a family member or friend. Maybe you have already experienced reflux or colic with a previous child and have spotted the symptoms yourself.

From talking to parents with diagnosed infant reflux (GORD) one message is clear, it’s not always possible to diagnose reflux first time, everytime and the response from UK health professionals is not always consistent because all babies are different and all babies suffer with differing symptoms to different extremes.

Under these circumstances, as the parent of a distressed child it’s important to look for qualities in the GP consultation that will provide a good level of support and advice. A good health professional should listen to the parents account of the situation, empathise and show value in a parents description of their baby’s symptoms, examine the baby, assess weight gain and development and ultimately ‘treat’ the condition by either offering advice or suggesting suitable prescription products or referral to paediatrics.

So, if you are thinking about visiting your GP or discussing your baby in terms of reflux symptoms with your Health Professional, then perhaps have a look at this list of things to think about before you set off. I remember my first visit to the GP - my mind was cluttered with so much, I was tired and emotional. I wish I’d had a list like this to help focus the consultation for me.

• Does your baby have any of the symptoms reported as usual for reflux disease?
  What the GP will try to do is rule out any other potential complaint, as so many symptoms of reflux may also be standalone issues in themselves or symptoms of other complaints. There are some very classic reflux symptoms however, so try to be clear about the main symptoms/issues.

• Is your baby regularly in discomfort/pain around feeding times?
  The goal is to try to understand the levels of discomfort that baby is experiencing and if it’s associated with feeding or the digestion process.

• If your baby regurgitates feeds? Is the vomit projectile? How much and how often?
  Try to have an idea of the frequency of sickness and the quantity. I always described the levels of saturation in terms of soaked bibs, clothes and distance away from the body. It’s hard to tell exactly how much milk is regurgitated in one go, but having a visual image of it will help you to describe the volume. Think about frequency in terms of before, during and after each feed. For us it was constant ‘spilling’ of milk following be several projectile episodes a day usually after each feed.

• Is baby gaining weight?
  Simply to determine baby’s weight gain patterns and gain knowledge of the birth weights and measurements. The health professional may even weigh the baby at the consultation. Also weight plays a big part in the prescribing of certain medication. As the baby grows, medication doses should be revised.

• What are the baby’s stools like? How regular/often?
  This is another question which helps to determine the way in which baby is functioning with foods. How well the digestive system is coping for example? But also if baby is regurgitating feeds, then they may feel a little dehydrated, as milk feeds form both a thirst quenching drink and a nourishing food supply.

If you can think about these points before you go to see a GP or health professional, you’ll be much better equipped to help the GP make a diagnosis or advise accordingly.

If you don’t get the opportunity to mention any of these points because you aren’t asked about them, I would strongly recommend dropping them into conversation. You need to ensure that you are totally satisfied that you have asked any or all of the questions you feel you need answering about your baby’s discomfort and possible reflux.