Gagging vs Choking In Baby-led Weaning: Differences, What to do and Safety Tips

Gagging vs choking BLW. Baby-led weaning gagging, choking hazards, choking incidents

Understanding the differences between gagging and choking is important when doing baby-led weaning.

A lot of parents who don’t like to hear their baby gagging often abandon the baby-led approach and switch to purees because of it.

So knowing the difference will give you the confidence to continue your feeding journey.

In this article, I’ll discuss the differences between gagging and choking, and give you some tips on preventing choking in babies doing baby-led weaning.

I’ll also talk about what to do when your baby is gagging and what to do when they’re choking.

Let’s dive in!

You should also read: BLW and Water: Ultimate Guide to Help Babies Drink Water Safely

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is not medical advice. It is simply for informational purposes only. Always Use the advice of your own pediatrician or healthcare provider for issues related to feeding your baby.

How Should I Prepare For Baby-led Weaning

Take An Online Course for Baby-led Weaning

One of the best ways to prepare for baby-led weaning is to take an online course. This will help answer some of your common questions about feeding your baby.

Learn Infant CPR

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a parent is to take a CPR course. Most courses have both infant CPR and one for older kids.

It will help you prepare for any choking episodes that may occur when starting solids.

The American Heart Association offers both an online and In-person infant CPR course to help you get started.

Knowing what to do during an emergency will help you get over the fear of choking that most parents have in the early stages of feeding.

Take A Baby First Aid Class

Baby first aid classes include infant CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver for babies who are choking.

Knowing what to do when your child is choking will help you save their lives.

Start With A Simple First Foods List

To ensure a smooth journey during the early stages of baby-led weaning, start with a simple list of first foods.

Check out the blog posts below for a list of simple first foods to give your baby.

Choking Vs. Gagging? A Comparison Chart

All About Gagging In Baby-led Weaning

Gagging is a normal reflex that can happen when your baby tries a new food or when too much food touches the back of their mouth.

Babies are born with a sensitive gag reflex which is easily triggered by a variety of foods.

The tongue-thrust reflex (pushing their tongue out of their mouth) and the gag reflex are normal reactions that work hand-in-hand to help protect your baby from choking.

What Does Gagging in BLW Look and Sound Like?

Gagging is a loud process. Below are some things you may see and hear that will tell you a baby is gagging.

When a baby gags, they look like they’re about to vomit.
A gagging baby pushes their tongue out. With their mouths open.
Throwing up their stomach contents or spitting up food.
The baby may fuss or cry from discomfort.
Making loud gaging or gurgling sounds.
You may hear lots of coughing as the baby tries to spit up the rest of the food.

You should also read: Baby-led Weaning Deli Meat Guide: When & How To Feed Them Safely

Why Do Babies Gag When Eating Solids?

Their Gag Reflex Is Still Further Up In The Mouth

Most adults have gag reflexes further back in the mouth. For babies, this isn’t true. Their immature gag reflexes are further up in their mouths, so it’s very easily triggered.

That’s why they gag whether they’re on solids or purees.

You should also read: Signs of Readiness to Start Solid Foods or Baby-led Weaning

Baby’s Gag To Protect Their Airway

Gagging is a natural way for the body to help protect the baby’s airway, by pushing food out of the baby’s mouth.

You should also read: Baby-led Weaning And Cereal: When Can Babies Eat Cereal?

Gagging Helps Little Ones Learn To Eat.

If they bite off a large piece of food, the baby’s gag reflex will immediately respond by forcing the food out of the mouth.

After a couple of months of practice, babies will learn to bite little pieces of food instead of stuffing large chunks in their mouths.

This eventually teaches them only to bite off what they can chew.

What Should I Do If My Baby Is Gagging During Feeding?

Don’t Intervene

The best thing you can do is not to intervene when your baby is gagging.

Even though it’s not a pleasant sound to hear, gagging is a good thing.

Most new parents will have the instinct to help their children by taking the food out of their mouths.

Doing so will pose a greater risk of choking to your baby. That’s because you may accidentally push the food further back.

Instead, let the baby work the food out of their mouths on their own.

Should I worry if my baby is gagging?

Gagging is developmentally normal in young babies. As mentioned above, they gag to learn how to eat and to save themselves from choking.

When Will My Baby Stop Gagging?

Gagging Reduces With More Practice

The more your baby gets used to solid foods, the less they’ll gag. So just keep giving them more foods to practice with.

Gagging Slows With Age

Older babies gag less than younger ones who are just starting baby-led weaning. The frequency of gagging greatly reduces after 12 months of age.

How To Help Reduce Gagging Episodes When Feeding

Expose them to new tastes

If you want your baby to stop gagging, you have to expose them to new tastes whenever possible.

Allow them to try salty, sweet, sour, and savory foods. This will help reduce their food aversion and their gagging episodes.

It could also help reduce the occurrence of picky eating in the future.

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Allow them to try new textures

Another way to reduce gagging in babies is to expose them to new textures whenever possible.

Allow them to try different textures going from soft foods to thicky purees, to chunky purees, and finally solids. That’s if you’re doing traditional weaning.

If you’re doing baby-led weaning, then expose them to soft foods like pasta, textured foods like broccoli, and chewy foods like meat.

The more textures you expose them to, the quicker they’ll stop gagging.

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When To Worry About Gagging In Babies

When older babies still have frequent gagging episodes

Babies older than 1 year of age should have fewer gagging episodes compared to those just starting solids.

In extreme cases, babies may have issues with their swallowing if they’re still gagging frequently after 12 months old.

If you’re worried then consult a speech-language pathologist or healthcare provider to get some evaluations done.

All About Choking In Baby-led Weaning

What is choking?

Choking is when a baby’s airway is blocked by food or another object, and they’re having trouble breathing.

Choking is completely different from gagging and should be taken seriously.

What Does Choking Look and Sound Like In Babies?

A choking baby is silent because the airway is blocked.
There’s no tongue thrust happening when a baby is choking
A baby who’s choking may not be able to cry.
Baby silently struggles to cough.
Your baby will struggle to breathe. May make high-pitched sounds.
Their face and lips may turn blue.
Your baby may grab their necks as they struggle.

What Should I Do If My Baby Is Choking?

Perform CPR right away. Watch the video to show you how.
Stay Calm
Call 911 and stay on the phone with them.
Continue CPR until the blockage has been removed and the baby is safe
Take Your child to the doctor or hospital after the blockage has been removed to check if there are any food remnants in the lungs.

According to Stanford Children’s Hospital, Here’s How To Perform CPR On A Choking Child.

How To Perform CPR for Babies Younger Than Age 1

Place the baby face down on your forearm. Your arm should be resting on your thigh for support.
With the heel of your other hand, give the child five quick, forceful blows between the shoulder blades.
If this fails, turn the baby on their back so that their head is lower than their chest.
Use two fingers to press down quickly on the center of the breastbone, just below the nipples, five times.
Continue this sequence of five back blows and five chest thrusts until the foreign object comes out or until the infant loses consciousness (passes out).
If the infant passes out, tell 911 immediately.

CAUTION: Never put your fingers into the infant’s mouth unless you can see the object. Doing so may push the blockage farther into the airway.

How To Perform CPR for Babies Ages 1 and Older

Stand behind the child and wrap your arms around their waist.
Make a fist with one hand and place your fist just below the chest. Grab your fist with your other hand.
Press into the abdomen with a quick upward push to force the food or object out of the mouth.
Repeat this inward and upward thrust until the piece of food or object comes out.

What To Do After The Airway is Cleared

Once the object comes out, take your child to the doctor. A piece of the object can still be in the lung. Only a doctor can tell you if your child is OK.

What are common choking hazards to avoid around the house?

A baby’s risk of choking increases when small objects are left unattended around the house.

So make sure items like coins, small batteries, tiny screws, or anything small enough to swallow are removed from your baby’s reach.

What are common food choking hazards for Babies?

Hard pieces of food

Hard foods such as raw vegetables like carrots, and thick chunks of meat pose a major choking risk to babies.

Whole nuts

Whole nuts pose a higher risk of choking because they’re easily swallowed and can get stuck in the airways.

Whole grapes

Whole grapes pose one of the greatest choking hazards to children.

Grapes must be cut lengthwise into four quarters for kids younger than 1 year of age.

Whole grapes can get stuck in your baby’s throat very easily because they’re slippery.

Safety Tips to Prevent Choking During Baby-led Weaning

Feed your baby in a high chair

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding your baby in a high chair whenever possible.

This helps ensure that they’re sitting with the appropriate posture for eating.

When a baby is slouched in their seat or on an adult’s lap, it’s easy for them to choke because their airway isn’t aligned straight.

Wait until your baby is developmentally ready

The best way to prevent choking in your baby is to wait until they show all the signs of readiness to start solid.

This means that they’ve developed their pincer grasp, can sit unsupported, etc. Click to read a complete article on the signs of readiness for solid foods.

Provide liquid during feeding

Babies only need a little bit of water when eating solids, during their first year of life.

Rather than water, provide them breastmilk or formula milk when they’re eating.

Encourage your baby to chew their food

Well-chewed food has a lower risk of causing choking compared to food that isn’t chewed properly before swallowing.

It’s very common for younger babies to hoard food on the side of their mouths like chipmunks as they practice chewing.

So encourage your baby to completely chew their food before taking more bites.

Avoid Overly Sticky Foods

Kids just starting baby-led weaning have trouble eating overly sticky foods.

So avoid foods like peanut butter and other kinds of nut butter as they could increase a baby’s risk of choking.

If you need to feed peanut butter to your baby, dilute it with breastmilk or formula to loosen it up.

Start With Soft Finger Foods

When starting baby-led weaning, it’s important to start with soft finger foods that your baby can easily eat.

So think of sweet potatoes, soft-cooked apples, bread, oatmeal, etc. These are less likely to cause a choking incident.

Use Straw Cups

Straw cups may help prevent your baby from choking on water (water could go into the windpipe accidentally).

That’s because straw cups are easy for babies to control and drink from compared to open cups and sippy cups.

Never leave your baby unsupervised when they’re eating

One of the best ways to prevent choking is to supervise your baby during feeding. Don’t leave them unattended so that you can intervene quickly if anything goes wrong.

Don’t feed your baby when they’re in motion

Feeding a baby in a moving car or in a moving stroller can increase their choking risk. That’s because bumps in the road could suddenly push food into their airway.

It’s best to feed a baby when they’re sitting upright in a high chair.

Cut food to its appropriate size

Before feeding your baby, make sure you cut it to the appropriate size for your baby. This helps prevent any choking incident.

Final Word About Gaging and Choking

Don’t let the fear of gagging or choking stop you from feeding your baby. Remember that eating solids is a new skill babies are learning for the first time.

So be patient with yourself and your baby. Eventually, every baby gets used to eating new foods.