Final answer:
Burping a baby during feeding is important to release swallowed air that gets trapped in the baby's stomach, which can cause discomfort, make them feel prematurely full, and lead to irritability.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is necessary to burp the baby during feeding because babies tend to swallow air, which gets trapped in their stomachs as they drink breast milk or formula. This swallowed air can make the baby feel uncomfortable and full before they have finished eating, and it may cause excessive gas and irritability.
Burping helps to release the trapped air (a burp is essentially a release of gas), which the stomach churns around with the stomach chyme, consisting of acid and enzymes that break down food. When the bubble of gas above the chyme in the stomach gets bigger, it pushes on the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus, potentially leading to a burp. Therefore, burping assists in making the feeding process more comfortable for the baby and helps promote better digestion.