Understanding the Gag Reflex and Why Babies Gag on Food with Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP

#496 - The gag reflex is a natural and necessary part of your baby’s feeding development, but it can be a source of anxiety for parents starting solid foods. In this episode, Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist and pediatric feeding expert, breaks down what the gag reflex is, why babies gag on food, and how to distinguish between gagging and choking. Learn practical strategies to support your baby through this phase and build confidence in their ability to learn to safely eat real food.




Listen to this episode to learn:



1. Why babies gag on food and what’s happening inside their mouth when they are gagging


2. How to react when your baby gags on food so that you don’t increase the risk of choking


3. When gagging starts to subside in both frequency and intensity…and why gagging is a good thing!





Shownotes for this episode can be found here:


https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast...




Links from this episode:



• Choking Prevention and Response Course co-taught by Katie, Dawn and CPR Instructor Brandon Doerksen (use code KATIE10 for an additional $10 off): https://courses.thrivetraininginstitu...


• ezpz Oral Development Tools (use affiliate code KATIE10 for 10% off) - shop Oral Development Tools here (https://shrsl.com/3w6ax) .


• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program 


• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-we...






Other Episodes Related to this Topic



• Episode 4 - Gagging vs. Choking: What is the Difference? (http://babyledweaning.co/podcast/425)



• Episode 238 - 5 Choking Prevention Tips with Brandon Doerksen (http://babyledweaning.co/podcast/238)






🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱






Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS (https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-we...) .






💯 💯 💯 💯 💯






Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN (https://babyledweaning.co/program) .






👀 👀 👀 👀 👀






Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam (  / babyledweanteam  ) on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel (   / babyledweaning  ) for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.






🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏






If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive BLW community!





Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices)