Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux (hereinafter GER) is the involuntary return of gastric contents to the esophagus, which occurs due to the previous release of the esophageal sphincter. The disorder most commonly occurs in infants up to the the age of one year and in most cases, it resolves itself by the age of 18 months. It does not cause health complications and can often be managed with minor non-pharmacological interventions. Purpose: This study was conducted to present the activity of daily living: eating and drinking in an infant with gastroesophageal reflux. Methods: A review of domestic and foreign professional literature was performed. The literature was obtained through remote access of the Digital Library of the University of Ljubljana in the databases CINAHL, COBIB.SI., PubMed, ScienceDirect, with the web browser Google Scholar and targeted search with a web search engine. 34 units of literature were included in the literature review. Results: Smaller amounts and more frequent meals for the baby reduce the incidence of GER. The use of milk formulas in infants with GER has no effect on the frequency of reflux and is not recommended unless the mother is unable to breastfeed. The results of the studies showed that milk thickening has been shown to be successful in reducing GER episodes, but the recommendations for thickening breast milk or milk formulas differ. The position of the baby after feeding can help reduce GER. Studies have shown that the smallest number of episodes of reflux have been reported in the abdominal or left lateral position, and that the right lateral position is associated with faster gastric emptying. The abdominal position is not recommended due to the increased incidence of sudden death syndrome. Studies have shown that a slightly raised head is positive in reducing GER symptoms. Discussion and conclusion: Breastfeeding is the only recommended food intake for infants suffering with GER until the age of 6 months, and later with a supplementary diet. With the help of thickeners, we can achieve a reduced occurrence of GER, but it is difficult to argue that one thickener is more effective than the other. When thickening the breast milk, care must be taken not to use a starch-based thickener due to the digestive enzyme amylase in breast milk. To achieve fewer GER episodes in the postprandial period and faster gastric emptying, the infant is placed in the left lateral position for the first hour and then in the right lateral position with the head slightly raised. Non-pharmacological procedures have been shown to be successful in most cases of infants with gastroesophageal reflux.
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