Constipation in Babies
Constipation is the compactness from the stools and the difficulty of passing them. Newborns pass soft stools that have consistency of a seedy mustard, when breast fed. Once the baby is fed baby foods, they’ve fewer, firm and dark stools. An infant who has been introduced to solid food diet, may pass stools once every three days or everyday.
Signs and symptoms of Constipation in Babies
You are able to understand if your baby is suffering from constipation by checking for an additional signs and symptoms of constipation in babies.
Constipation in newborn babies is visible once the baby passes firm stools under daily. Also, if the baby strains and has difficulty when passing them it means he is suffering from constipation.
If you see dry hard stools in the nappy.
If your baby draws the legs on the abdomen, gets red-faced and grunts while passing stools.
If you observe blood streaks within the stool.
Infrequent stools that is seen with abdominal discomfort.
Causes of Constipation in infants
There are many reasons for constipation in babies. Constipation in new born babies is lesser as breast milk is easily digested. They might face constipation just in case mom has consumed foods that cause constipation in her own and this gets used in the infant because of breastfeeding. Also, when the mother is producing less milk, the baby will be fed less milk, resulting in less bowel movement, which may be thought as constipation.
Infants who are fed formula milk might have constipation. Formula milk take very long time for you to be digested and certain ingredients in the food could cause constipation. Whenever a breastfed baby is introduced to solid food he maybe vulnerable to constipation. The stomachs become used to easily digested breast milk and take time to process the solid food. This slow digestion process leads to constipation in babies.
Another cause of constipation in babies is dehydration. If the baby is not getting enough fluids then the body absorbs fluids from the food eaten or even the waste in the bowels as well. This will cause hard, dry stools that are hard to pass.
Food allergies, botulism or even hypothyroidism can be a cause of constipation in babies. You need to go to the doctor and find out if you will find underlying medical conditions that are causing constipation in your baby.
Constipation in infants Home Remedies
You are able to ease the going number 2 of your babies and toddlers by using some infant constipation remedies. You should start feeding less levels of milk and increase the number of baby feeding times. This helps the kid to digest milk easily. You should boost the quantity of water intake when the baby is fed formula milk. This rise in water intake will help in better absorption in the intestines.
During a warm bath, give a stomach massage to the baby that energizes the intestines, assisting him to pass stools. You can also get your child during a bowel movement and permit gravity to assist pass the stool with ease. If the baby is straining throughout a bowel movement, lay the infant on the back and push the knees towards the chest. This helps put some pressure on the stomach and assist in a easy bowel movement.
You may also try using glycerin suppository offered at local pharmacies and instill it within the rectal vault. This helps within the bowel movement.
Constipation in infants Treatment
If your baby is suffering from constant constipation, you need to visit your pediatrician for treating your child medically. The pediatrician may recommend laxatives to treat constipation in babies. He may also recommend flax oil to be added like a natural remedies for constipation in newborns.
You might introduce strained foods containing high fiber such as apricots, prunes, peaches, plums, pears, peas, spinach within the diet of babies of 4 months to Twelve months to help relive constipation in infants.
In infants younger than 4 months, feed them one to two ounces of diluted juice like grape, prune or apple prune. You can look at other available choices as a treatment for constipation in infants with recommendation and consultation of the pediatrician. Babies resume normal bowel movement in some weeks as soon as their bodies are adjusted to the change in feeding habits.