How to burp a newborn, and what to do when no burp comes

Somewhere between the first feed and the fiftieth, most of us start wondering how to burp a newborn properly. You pat, you wait, you pat a bit more, and nothing happens. Then you lie the baby down and hear a cheerful burp from the cot. It can feel like a skill you are failing at. It is not. Burping is a small, flexible part of a feed, not a test with a pass mark.

Why we burp at all

During a feed, babies swallow a bit of air along with the milk. Bottle-fed babies often take in a little more; breastfed babies usually take in less, though it varies hugely from baby to baby and from feed to feed.

That air can sit in the tummy and make a baby feel full before they have actually finished. Helping it come up is just giving the air an easy route out. Sometimes there is air, sometimes there is not. Both are normal.

So the goal is not "get a burp". The goal is: give your baby a comfortable couple of minutes to let out anything that wants to come out, then move on with your evening.

How to burp a newborn: three positions that work

Most parents end up with a favourite. Try all three over a week and see which one your baby seems to like, and which one your arms and back prefer at 3am.

Over your shoulder

The classic. Bring your baby up so their chin rests on your shoulder and their tummy is against your chest. Their head needs support at all times, so keep one hand cupping the back of their head and neck, and use your forearm to support along their back.

With your free hand, pat or rub the back, somewhere between the shoulder blades. Gentle and rhythmic, not brisk. A soft cupped hand works better than a flat slap.

A muslin over your shoulder is worth the three seconds it takes to grab.

Sitting upright on your lap

Sit your baby sideways on your thigh, facing across you. Support the chest and chin with the web of your hand — thumb on one side of the jaw, fingers on the other, with the heel of your hand resting against the chest. The key thing is that you are holding the jaw and chest, never the throat.

Lean your baby very slightly forwards so they are not slumped. Then pat or stroke upwards along the back with your other hand.

This one is often the quickest, and it lets you see your baby's face, which is useful if spit-up is on the cards.

Face down across your lap

Lay your baby tummy-down across your thighs, head turned to the side and resting slightly higher than the body. Keep a hand on them the whole time. Rub or pat the back gently.

Some babies love the pressure on the tummy. Note that this is a wide-awake, supervised position only — for sleep, babies go on their back, on a firm flat surface, with no loose bedding.

Burping is not something you do to your baby. It is something you give them a chance to do.

When to pause mid-feed

You do not have to wait until the end. A mid-feed pause can make the second half calmer.

Good moments to try:

• When your baby comes off the breast or bottle on their own and seems unsettled rather than sleepy-full
• Halfway through a bottle, or when swapping sides at the breast
• If your baby starts squirming, arching or pulling off and on repeatedly

If your baby is feeding steadily and happily, there is no need to interrupt. A baby in a good rhythm rarely thanks you for stopping.

And there is no magic number of minutes. Two or three minutes of gentle patting is plenty. If nothing comes, that is your answer.

What to do when no burp comes

This happens constantly, and it worries new parents far more than it needs to.

Try one change of position — shoulder to lap, or lap to shoulder. The small shift in the angle of the tummy is often what does it, not the patting. Hold your baby upright against you for a few minutes while you finish your tea.

If your baby is settled, relaxed, limbs loose, eyes heavy, there is probably nothing to bring up. Carry on with your routine. If a burp arrives later, perhaps as you lift them out of the cot, it was never urgent.

And if your baby is unsettled and no burp comes, you can stop. Crying, stiffening, turning away or becoming distressed are all signals to pause rather than persist. Cuddling upright, a nappy change, or simply moving to a different room often helps as much as any patting.

About spit-up

A small amount of milk coming back up after a feed, with or without a burp, is very common in the early months. It often looks like far more than it is. Keep a muslin handy and accept that your clothes are now part of the laundry cycle.

If feeds seem genuinely painful for your baby, if they are frequently distressed during or after feeding, if spit-up seems forceful or frequent, or if you are worried about weight gain, speak to your midwife, health visitor or doctor. That is exactly what they are there for, and you do not need to wait until it feels serious enough.

Making it part of the rhythm

Feeds repeat so often that small details are easy to lose track of. Some parents like to note which position worked, or whether evening feeds need more pausing than morning ones — a notebook, your phone, or an app like Kaplu can hold that for you.

Mostly, though, the pattern shows up on its own. After a few weeks you will know your baby's usual: the shoulder-burper, the lap-burper, or the one who simply does not do burps.

Hold them upright, give them a couple of calm minutes, and let the rest go. A feed that ends without a burp is still a complete, perfectly good feed.