For how we live.
Every article we have published on Gastroesophageal Reflux, newest first.
Heartburn is one of the most common complaints in pregnancy. Diet and posture changes come first; a Cochrane review found antacid-type medicines relieve it, but the trial evidence is thin and drug choice needs care.
Two things you do in bed have randomised evidence for nocturnal reflux: raising the head of the bed cut acid exposure from 21% to 15%, and a device that kept people on their left side nearly doubled treatment success.
Lying down soon after a meal will not harm most healthy people, but it is not neutral. It reliably worsens acid reflux, and habitually eating late shifts the body's metabolism in a direction tied to weight gain.
Bringing up milk is normal in healthy babies: it peaks around four months and usually fades by the first birthday. Most infants need no medicine, and the evidence for acid-suppressing drugs in simple reflux is weak.
A Nurses' Health Study II analysis estimated 37% of incident reflux symptoms were attributable to five modifiable factors. Body weight was the largest single one, at 19%.