Parenting can be a troublesome job. Needless to say, if you are a new mother, you love to make eye contact during breastfeeding.
Now, think about it, you’ve just noticed that your baby makes a humming noise while breastfeeding. Wouldn’t you be worried?
Well, that’s why we have decided to explain this phenomenon right in this discussion.
In short, most babies make a humming noise while suckling breasts because it feels an extreme sense of pleasure. Thus, this noise is a natural reflex.
This is not the only reason this incident occurs with babies. While some explanations behind this are adorable, some can be a matter of concern. So, stick with us till the very end and get full knowledge on this topic!
My Baby Makes Humming Noise While Breastfeeding: Should I Be Concerned?
The first thing you should understand when your baby is making a humming noise is that this phenomenon is not an abnormal activity at all.
Rather, almost all babies make a humming noise while suckling breast milk from their mother. Therefore, it’s nothing to be alarmed about.
Furthermore, since suckling milk from the mother is the only source of nutrition for newborns, doing this activity gives them physical pleasure and relief from hunger. As a result, a lot of newborns make a humming noise while suckling milk.
So, moaning, humming, and other types of noises during sucking milk is not something that you should be too concerned about.
Instead, you should try to ensure that your baby has the utmost comfort while suckling from you.
Baby Makes Humming Noise While Breastfeeding: Why Does It Occur?
There are numerous reasons why your baby is making a humming noise while suckling milk.
However, from countless online confessions and discussions, we have pointed major 6 reasons why this phenomenon might take place:
1. Your Baby’s Hunger Is Fulfilled
The natural reflex of a human being is that when it gets its favorite food, it shows positive body traits that indicate that the hunger is fulfilled. And, this particular fact also applies to babies as well.
When your baby is extremely hungry, and you let it suckle your breast after a long time, it immediately starts showing signs of pleasure while it’s getting its favorite food.
To fulfill your baby hunger, you are not suppossed to breastfeeding all the time. You can try out adding breast milk and make the baby formula taste better. Normally, this will work when your baby is a picky eater.
More specifically, your baby makes a humming noise as a natural reflex to indicate that its hunger is getting fulfilled.
2. Instant Influx Of Dopamine
A particular hormone named Dopamine is released from the brain whenever humans eat their long-awaited food items. And, the primary function of this hormone is to give pleasure.
When babies suckle breast milk from their mothers, they get an instant burst of Dopamine in their brain. As a result, they show a sign of extreme pleasure by making a humming noise.
Now, if all these scientific explanations are seeming a bit overwhelming to you, just think about how you react when you have your favorite pizza. You probably go like, “mmmm tasty”, right?
Well, that’s your way of expressing the physical pleasure that you get from your food. And, the reason behind these reactions is the influx of Dopamine in your brain.
Likewise, babies also show physical signs of pleasure due to the influx of Dopamine in their brains. This, in turn, manifests as a humming noise to us.
3. Your Baby Is Getting Comforted
The safest place where a child can be is its mother’s lap. So, when a baby gets to suckle breast milk from its mother, it feels extremely safe and comforting. Due to this, babies can sometimes make a humming or moaning noise.
On top of that, you should understand that your baby instantly detects when it’s in your lap. Even if your baby is asleep, it has a natural ability to sense when it’s around you.
Therefore, when your baby starts to suckle milk from your breasts, it feels at home and makes moaning / humming noises.
4. Your Baby Wants To Get Your Attention
Sometimes it just happens that your baby wants your immediate attention. And, when it gets the long-awaited attention, it shows you physical signs of satisfaction.
Now, you have to understand that breastfeeding is the physical indication to your baby that you are giving your attention to it.
Resultantly, your baby feels extreme levels of joy sitting in your lap and suckling milk from you. Consequently, he/she subconsciously makes a humming noise to tell you that it is extremely satisfying to be in your care.
5. Humming Just Out Of Habit
Babies tend to make different types of noises throughout their daily lives. And, the humming noise is one that your baby can frequently make without any special reason.
Since there’s no particular reason why babies make this type of noise, you should understand that this phenomenon is a natural and positive habit. Most of the babies develop in order to soothe themselves. Another act of self-soothing would be rubbing their feet together.
6. Humming As An Intrinsic Mode Of Communication
Babies get habituated to suckling from your breast while lying on your lap. Now, since babies can’t talk, they have a few natural and intrinsic ways of communication to express themselves to you.
For instance, your baby will cry when it wets its diapers in the middle of the night. It’s a communication that indicates that your baby is in discomfort.
Although this phenomenon is entirely subconscious, it is an intrinsic way of communication between a mother and a baby.
When Should I Be Worried When My Baby Is Humming?
Although the humming or moaning of the babies is an entirely normal phenomenon, sometimes it can also indicate something you should be concerned about.
1. Non-stop Humming
If your baby does the humming for about 5 to 10 minutes before going to sleep, it’s a natural process with no negative meaning.
That said, if you just noticed that your baby has been humming for half an hour or more (and it’s not stopping), you should understand that there’s something wrong.
Chances are that your baby is actually crying, but it’s too tired to make screaming noises. So, you have to be responsible here and find out why your baby is in discomfort.
Once you pinpoint why your baby is making this non-stop humming noise, you should take immediate steps to mitigate the underlying problem.
For instance, if your baby has been bitten by a mosquito or something, it might show the feeling of discomfort through a constant humming noise.
In this case, you must take proper steps to protect your baby from mosquito bites.
2. Humming All Of A Sudden
In case your baby starts humming all of a sudden, it’s a matter that you should be concerned about. For example, if your baby starts humming suddenly in the middle of its sleep, you should understand that something is wrong.
And, in this case, consider taking your baby into your arms right away and walking around your house for a few minutes to calm it down.
Additionally, in those phenomena where babies start humming suddenly, the most probable reason behind this is that your baby instantly wants you at its side.
So, you better immediately take your baby into your lap whenever it starts humming suddenly.
What Are The Normal Sounds That Babies Can Make While Breastfeeding?
Babies can make many types of sounds while suckling from their mothers. Below, we have attempted to list a few common sounds made by babies:
1. Humming
As we have discussed above, humming is a natural sound that babies subconsciously make while breastfeeding.
2. Moaning
Moaning is a type of sound that babies make when they’re fully satisfied with something. Or, sometimes moaning can also be seen in babies when it’s in extreme pleasure.
3. Gulping
While breastfeeding, babies constantly suckle the breasts and gulp the lactic liquid at a steady pace. That’s why gulping sounds are very common while your baby is having its meal from you.
4. Clicking Sound
When your baby latches onto your breasts, it will naturally make a “click” sound. It’s a natural indication that your baby has perfectly latched onto your nipples.
Now, if you hear constant clicking sounds from your baby while breastfeeding, it’s an indication that the baby is having a hard time latching on to your breast.
5. Grunting
The most common scenario when your baby makes grunting sounds is that it changes its side in sleep. Naturally, the grunting sound indicates that your baby is making a physical effort to do something.
6. Squirming
In most cases, you will see babies making squirming noises when they are in discomfort. However, squirming noises do not indicate that you should be alarmed instantly.
Rather, just try to give your baby the most comfort that you can provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do babies make humming noises even when it’s overfed?
No, it’s very unlikely that your baby will make humming noises when it’s overfed. It’s due to the fact that humming / moaning noises occur mainly due to satisfaction.
But, overfeeding your baby will not give it a sense of satisfaction. Which is why you will most likely not see your baby-making humming noises when it’s overfed.
2. Is it normal for my baby to fall asleep while humming?
Yes, it’s a perfectly normal scenario. Babies can make a humming noise to self-soothe themselves. As a result, you may see your baby falling asleep very fast while humming.
3. When should I call a doctor when my baby is humming?
Naturally, babies will do the humming for less than 20 minutes. However, if you notice that your baby is humming for hours non-stop, you should give your doctor a call right away.
Final Verdict
Well, that was my take on why a baby makes a humming noise while breastfeeding. The bottom line of this discussion is that humming is a perfectly natural activity for babies.
So, if your baby is humming while breastfeeding, you should see it as a positive sign that your baby is getting satisfaction while suckling. There’s no other negative connotation to this particular phenomenon.
