Parenting comes with a lot of concerns and challenges about infant health. Parents must keep a regular check on children's health to address any potential problems such as infant constipation, which is extremely common in babies. This article covers everything you need to know about baby constipation like causes, signs and symptoms, home remedies, and prevention. The core objective of this article is to equip parents with the right information about constipation in infants.
Newborn constipation is not a serious medical condition, and it can be easily treated with natural constipation relief. These remedies relieve constipation with minimal effort and usually only imply a small change in the baby’s diet. Just know that you are not the first parent who has had to deal with dry stools.
What is baby constipation?
Baby constipation refers to any difficulty in passing stool or any abrupt change in normal bowel movement. There are many stages and forms of baby constipation like dry stools, stiff belly, anal rashes, abdomen pain, blood strains in poop, and more.
Facts
Breastfeeding babies often develop constipation, and the rate of constipation in breastfeeding babies is more than in formula-feeding babies. Most of the time, constipation occurs due to switching from breastfeeding to formula feed.
Difficulty Evacuating
The intestinal and rectal muscles of babies are not tough and strong enough to evacuate any bowel movement that is hard in consistency so they develop constipation very easily. To avoid infant constipation, parents should regularly check the color, texture, flow, and appearance of stool.
How can you tell if your baby is constipated?
You can tell if your baby is constipated if your baby’s bowel movement is less frequent than usual, especially if there was a change in the baby’s diet recently. A change in how your baby’s stools appear is another signal.
Rather than the usual soft and mushy stool, they may look like small hard pebbles or be loose and watery. The abdomen of your baby could also be bloated or swollen with gas that you’ll surely be able to smell. Constipation in babies often causes your baby to cry due to painful cramps.
What causes constipation in babies?
Constipation typically occurs when waste slowly makes its way through the digestive tract which causes hard and dry stools.
Here are the main causes of constipation in babies:
Withholding
Changes in diet
Changes in routine
Family history
Medical condition
Withholding
Your child might be withholding their bowel movement because of large, painful hard stools. Since the act of pooping hurts, certain infants adopt a “flight” response to this necessary bodily function.
Changes in Diet
Not enough fiber-rich food or fluid in your child's diet may cause constipation. Children often become constipated when they switch from an all-liquid diet to one that includes solid foods. Introducing fiber-rich food into your baby’s diet can help regulate their bowel movement.
Changes in Routine
Any alteration in the routine of the baby (traveling, change of season, stress, etc.) can affect the bowel movement of your little one.
Family history
If family members have experienced constipation themselves, then genetic and environmental factors could play a role in the development of infant constipation.
Medical conditions
Fortunately, this is rare, but sometimes constipation in babies may indicate an anatomic malformation, a metabolic or digestive system problem, or another underlying condition.
What are the signs and symptoms of infant constipation?
One of the most obvious symptoms of constipation is a less soft stool. It has different forms like hard stool, pellet-like stool, clay-like stool, in short, any unusual stool that is not soft or slimy. In severe constipation, blood strain can be seen in the stool or the diaper. It is mostly due to an anal fissure or rectal rash. The blood comes only at the time of bowel, and it does not flow all the time.
What are some home remedies for baby constipation?
Here are the best home remedies for baby constipation:
Belly exercise
Warm bath
Dietary changes
Mother’s diet
Hydration
Massage
Rectal thermometer
1. Belly Exercise
It is one of the most used home remedies for baby constipation. The exercise consists of gently folding the legs towards the belly and then straightening them out. This simple movement can help the small intestine do its work and evacuate what’s waiting at the gate.
2. Warm Bath
A warm bath is a useful and quick-acting home remedy for baby constipation. For this home treatment, we fill warm water in a tub in which the baby can easily be seated. Sometimes you can add germ killer or salt to treat the anal injury along with constipation. This natural constipation relief will warm and relax the baby’s bowel so that it can start its proper work again.
3. Dietary changes
Stools are directly related to eating habits, which is why regular and unhealthy food can cause constipation. A baby’s diet usually consists of breast milk or formula, which can both cause constipation. By changing the diet of the baby, you can easily cure constipation. The only thing you need is proper knowledge of fibrous food.
Fruit juices like orange juice, mango juice, plum, and peach juice can help in evacuating the normal bowel. Juices help in the proper movement of the stomach. For babies that are older than 6 weeks, solid fiber foods, like skinless apples, pureed prunes, peaches, broccoli, are beneficial in treating constipation.
4. Mother’s Diet
Sometimes changes in the mother's dietary habits can treat the constipation of a breastfed baby. For example, not eating dairy products can cure baby constipation.
5. Hydration
Lack of fluids affects the consistency of the bowel. The infant surely intakes milk that already contains water but this is not enough for constipated babies. In this case, you can use this very famous home remedy for baby constipation, which is increasing the fluid intake of babies. This home remedy treats baby constipation easily, but it has no quick action.
6. Massage
Massage is a conventional home remedy for baby constipation and it is done to relieve the tension that the baby might be experiencing. To massage you can use oils such as olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil or sunflower oil. Gently massaging the feet and the belly will relieve your baby’s constipation.
7. Rectal thermometer
A rectal thermometer is another home remedy for baby constipation. In this natural treatment, a rectal thermometer is put in the rectum of the baby to measure the temperature. We recommend you apply petroleum jelly on the thermometer before putting it in the rectum. This can make the stool soft and induce bowel movements. This home remedy requires basic knowledge because a little carelessness may worsen the condition of the already inflamed and swollen rectum.
How to prevent constipation in babies
Constipation is normal so there are no ultimate ways to prevent constipation apart from paying careful attention to your baby’s hydration as well as the ingredients in his daily diet. These two steps go a long way to prevent constipation in babies.
How often should you change a baby’s diaper?
When should you contact your baby’s healthcare provider?
Infant constipation usually doesn't aggravate much and 80% to 90% of baby constipation is cured by home remedies and a proper care routine. However, when the situation worsens, you should consult a pediatrician for guidelines.
Pain During Bowel
If after applying all the home remedies, the condition does not change and the baby still feels pain while pooping after 2 weeks, you should seek help from a doctor.
Irritation
If your baby seems to feel irritation and cries during the evacuation, you should seek the help of a health professional.
Weight Loss
If the constipation is due to your baby’s lack of appetite, consult a health professional to address this concern.
Rectal Prolapse
In this condition, a part of the lower section of the large intestine slips out of the muscular opening at the end of the digestive tract. This situation requires immediate medical assistance.
Overview
The objective of this article is to spread awareness on baby constipation, focusing mainly on home remedies to solve the problem. These remedies are instrumental in alleviating constipation symptoms and relaxing your baby’s stomach.
In some cases, only a few changes in food can cure baby constipation but if the situation aggravates, then you may want to try other natural remedies like exercise and massage. These home treatments combined with a simple warm water bath can often unclog your little one effectively. However, if you don’t notice effective results after a week or two, you should consult a pediatrician for medical aid.
Parents should be very skeptical and careful about their child's poop patterns because a little medical negligence may cause serious and long-term problems for the baby. We hope this article has cleared all your doubts and concerns regarding baby constipation and provided you with the best solutions.
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