You might find that when your baby starts to eat solids they can gag a lot. It’s a normal reaction at first, as this is all new. Try small amounts at a time to help ease them into it and don’t stop giving some lumpy food - they will learn how to manage the texture over time.
Make sure the lumps aren’t too big or too hard or your baby will struggle. A good rule of thumb to begin with is to make sure the lump of food is soft enough for your baby to squash between their tongue and the roof of their mouth.
Gagging isn’t the same thing as choking - choking means that they can’t breathe. Gagging means they have bitten off more than they can manage in their mouth and their eyes may water and they may look a bit distressed. It’s important not to panic. Just smile at them and talk calmly as you watch them eventually swallow the food.
The important thing is that you stay close by in case they’re really choking and get help immediately. The Well Child Tamariki Ora Health Book (Ministry of Health, Manatu Hauora, New Zealand. Revised December 2010. Reprinted January 2011.Code HE7012) recommends the following:
What to do if your baby is choking
Babies up to one year
- Call for help
- Firmly support the head by holding the jaw
- Hold them upside down across your arm or knee
- Slap them between the shoulder blades up to 5 times – don’t be too forceful
- Remove the object only if you can do it easily. Don’t try to fish for it – you may push it further in.
Children over one year
- If they are conscious, hold them from behind
- Wrap your arms round their waist with your hands clasped
- Give 6-10 upward thrusts
If you can’t remove the object in these ways, do mouth to nose (or mouth to mouth) breathing on the child until help arrives.
