Is gripe water good for babies? Is gripe water safe for babies? Well, if these are the questions nagging you at the moment, than read the following article which deals with gripe water safety and will help you to uncover some of the gripe water side effects that can become a problem.
Ever since gripe water was concocted for the first time back in 1851, by an American pharmacy apprentice, living in England, called William Woodward, millions of mothers have blessed this magic potion every day, and continue to do so even today. Gripe water seems to instantaneously relieve intestinal colic in infants caused majorly due to flatulence and reflux. Gripe water works wonders when it comes to relieving baby teething pain as well. The natural question that comes to mind is why do babies suffer from such acute pain just due to the formation of gas? Well, simply put, a newly born child's gastrointestinal system is still in the stage of formation. For the first thirteen weeks after a baby sees the light of day, digestion facilitating muscles are in the process of developing fully and moreover, the beneficial bacteria found in the intestinal tract to aid gastric digestion, called probiotics, are yet to appear in a baby's digestive system. So, gas is easily formed in the infant's stomach and gets stuck in the intestines. This further restricts the natural flux of gastric juices and as a result of this immense pressure, the stomach tends to dilate and swell up. Obviously, your baby cries to this swelling up of the stomach. Now why does gripe water work in such instances? Simply because of the gripe water ingredients such as aloe, angelica, anise seeds, blackthorn, caraway, cardamom, chamomile, dill, fennel, ginger, lemon balm, peppermint purified water and glycerin, all work in tandem to assuage the body of spasms and cramps, induce slumber, as well as work to facilitate the easy passage of gas. They also help the process of digestion and also alleviates tendencies to vomit, in a baby. But unfortunately, there are some gripe water side effects that every parent should know about, before investing in gripe water for babies.