Why Babies Vomit When They Cry Intensely

My daughter is 14 months old and often vomits when she cries intensely. What exactly is going on? Could it be an illness?

Reader from Zhushan County, Hubei: Jia Ren

Expert for this issue: Dr. Li Yanming, Chief Physician at Nanning People's Hospital, Guangxi

This is a normal phenomenon and not a disease, so please rest assured. When people cry, the abdominal pressure increases, and so does the pressure in the stomach. The same applies to children, especially when they cry intensely, the pressure in the stomach becomes significant, causing the food inside to move upwards and leading to gastroesophageal reflux. The vomiting mainly occurs because the cardiac sphincter in children is not well developed.

The cardia is the part that connects the stomach to the esophagus. Food in the esophagus passes through the cardia into the stomach. The cardia has a sphincter muscle that can contract and relax, acting like a "door" to prevent the food and gastric acid that have entered the stomach from refluxing into the esophagus. In adults and older children, the cardiac sphincter is well-developed, and the "door" can close tightly. However, in younger children, the cardiac sphincter is not well-developed, and the "door" cannot close tightly, so when the child cries intensely, it can lead to vomiting.

This situation usually decreases gradually as the child grows. Generally, after the age of 3, this situation is much less frequent, and after the age of 5, it almost never occurs. Here is a reminder: if your child continues to experience this condition frequently after the age of 5, it is advisable to go to the hospital for an examination to assess the development of their digestive tract and to check for any diseases related to vomiting.