Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, FAAP

Dear Dr. Gwenn,

What can you tell me about pyloric stenosis? My first born son had this but other than telling me his first born son may have the same problem they did not tell me much about it. He had projectile vomiting and they kept changing his formula with no success until the surgery at 6 weeks old.

Signed,
Cheryl

Dear Cheryl:

The pyloris is a muscle between the stomach and the intestine. In some babies, it can become very thick and actually block the passage of milk from the stomach to the intestine - hence the term "stenosis". It occurs slowly, creating a smaller and smaller passage way until there is a pure obstruction. Once a critical point is reached, the baby will begin to forcefully vomit the milk as it can not pass to the intestine.

Typically, this occurs during the first 4-6 weeks of life and tends to occur more frequently in first born males. Parents don't need to watch for this per se but will know to call the pediatrician because their infant will be vomiting forcefully with every feeding. The pediatrician will take it from there.

This can run in families so your son would be wise someday when he becomes a dad to just keep this in mind and pass the information on when he and his future wife decide to kids. This is not something that can be prevented but is treated easily with surgery and the babies do really well.

Here's a reference for more information

Best,
Dr. Gwenn

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About the Author
Pediatrician, Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Gwenn is an experienced columnist, educator, and practicing pediatrician. Dr. Gwenn strives to write as if she were talking to a parent. As a parent herself, she knows how important it is to obtain information but also understand how precious little time parents have to find that information on the internet. Pediatrics Now was developed to fill that gap and provide a bridge between the parenting and pediatrics worlds.

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