Treatment of constipation in newborns. What to do if a breastfed or bottle-fed newborn is constipated What to do if a newborn has constant constipation

In the first year of a baby's life, parents have to deal with many troubles. The most common among them is bowel dysfunction, which is often manifested by constipation. The child cannot empty his bowels easily, on time and painlessly, as it should be normally. He strains and cries, but there is no desired result - feces. Statistics confirm that a quarter of newborns experience this pathology from time to time. The situation is complicated by the fact that the baby, naturally, will not talk about his condition, so it can be difficult for young mothers and fathers to determine constipation in a child.

Feces that accumulate in the intestines due to constipation lead to intoxication of the child’s body. It is important to identify and correct the problem in a timely manner. What signs should you look for in order to recognize intestinal problems in your baby and what to do if your baby has constipation? Let's try to find out.

How can you tell if your baby is constipated?

Initially, they pay attention to how often a child has a natural bowel movement per day, what color and consistency the stool has. Another important characteristic that should not be forgotten is how easy it is for a child to have a bowel movement, and whether it causes him painful or uncomfortable sensations.

The frequency of bowel movements per day in infants gradually decreases throughout the year. Newborns have bowel movements approximately 4 to 10 times. By the age of 1 year, it is considered physiological and normal to have a bowel movement once a day. A baby's stool has a soft consistency. In the first month of life, stools are mushy. In older children, the stool gradually becomes more shaped.

The color of stool largely depends on the food consumed by the baby. Newborns have yellow stool. When complementary feeding begins, the color becomes light brown or dark brown. Normally, bowel movements do not bring unpleasant or painful sensations to the baby. The rectum is cleared of contents easily, without intense pushing; the baby should not be capricious or cry during bowel movements.

If the baby maintains a good appetite, the child looks completely healthy, it is painless, he defecates easily, but rarely - there is no need to worry too much. This condition can be an individual norm. You can watch the baby for a while. Bonding of the stool can take place on its own, without outside intervention.

If stool consolidation occurs in an infant, the normal characteristics begin to change. The alarm should be sounded in the following cases:

The baby has stool less than once or twice a day;
the process of cleansing the intestines in a child is accompanied by crying and anxiety;
the baby refuses to eat;
baby doesn't sleep well;
there is bloating, occasionally vomiting;
stool density is very high;
Feces are passed out with difficulty, causing discomfort to the baby.

It is generally accepted that babies' intestinal function is not affected if they are fed exclusively with breast milk. This is not true. Constipation in children older than one year, as well as in newborns, is not so uncommon when breastfeeding.

Types of constipation in babies

There are two forms of stool consolidation: atonic and spastic. Understanding the difference between them helps determine the tactics of helping the baby and treating the pathological condition.

With constipation, which is based on intestinal atony, the initial portion of feces is excessively dense and has a large diameter. It is difficult to excrete stool and the process is painful. The next portion looks like gruel and is voluminous.

With spastic constipation, problems are associated with spasm of the intestinal walls. The main manifestation is “sheep” feces (it looks like separate, hard pellets). Its density is also significantly increased. The discharge of fecal substance is accompanied by pain. Spastic constipation is characterized by pronounced bloating of the abdomen.

Why does babies get constipated?

In infants, stool consolidation occurs for several reasons. Let's consider the main ones in order:

Anomalies in the structure of the large intestine. Defects are most often associated with pathologies such as diverticula and intestinal kinks. Violations of the anatomy provoke constipation of an organic nature, which appears already in the first days and months of the baby’s life. The occurrence of intestinal disorders in such situations requires immediate correction.
Flaws in the nutrition of a mother who is breastfeeding her baby. This nutritional causative factor causes constipation in an infant quite often. The mother's consumption of large quantities of nuts, meat, milk, rice cereal, black rich tea or coffee, cocoa, white bread, etc. can disturb the baby's stool. Constipation can be observed in the baby all the time if a woman regularly abuses the listed foods.
Water deficiency in children's bodies. This factor is relevant especially with artificial feeding, with insufficient introduction of crumbs of water into the diet (the amount depends on the age of the baby).
Untimely introduction of complementary foods. The baby's digestive canal, especially when it comes to the early months of life, is perfectly adapted for processing milk, but does not cope well with the absorption of other food. Constipation when introducing complementary foods ahead of schedule occurs regularly in babies. Therefore, many modern pediatricians are convinced that up to 6 months. The only acceptable product for feeding babies can be considered only breast milk.
A sharp transition from breastfeeding to nutritional formulas, from one formula to another. The younger the baby, the more susceptible he is to constipation for this reason.
Deficiency of dietary fiber in the diet. This factor can cause stool consolidation in a young child during the period of introducing complementary foods. Children sometimes do not want to eat vegetable/fruit purees, as a result of which there is a lack of dietary fiber entering the intestines. If there is also dehydration, the baby, alas, is guaranteed to have irregular bowel movements.
Taking antibiotics and some other medications (antidepressants, muscle relaxants, iron supplements, etc.) by the mother or baby. To successfully treat many dangerous diseases (for example, pneumonia, purulent otitis), doctors are forced to prescribe potent antimicrobial drugs to children. The trouble is that, despite all the effectiveness of such medications in eliminating infection, they behave very aggressively towards the intestinal microflora. Antibiotics have a bactericidal effect on both pathogenic microorganisms and beneficial ones. As a result, constipation occurs due to dysbiosis. If the mother takes any of the listed medications, their active ingredients pass into breast milk, and with it into the baby’s body.
Inactive lifestyle. Many young mothers, for safety reasons, excessively protect their children from active games. Physical inactivity leads not only to impaired intestinal motility, but also to delay physical development baby.
Psychogenic causative factors. Separation from mommy, due to, for example, illness of her or the baby, leads to delay, hardening of the baby’s stool - due to anxiety on a subconscious level.
Insufficient volume of mother's milk. When the baby does not eat enough, all the milk consumed is completely absorbed by the body - in this case, the intestines actually have nothing to excrete.

All the factors mentioned are functional in nature, with the exception of the first point. Functional constipation occurs against the background of an anatomically healthy intestine; only the functional ability of the digestive canal is impaired - due to spasm or, conversely, atony.

Prolonged constipation can be provoked by such serious diseases as inflammation of the pancreas, dyskinesia of the bile ducts, rickets, liver pathologies, myasthenia gravis, brain tumors, lactose deficiency, allergic phenomena, hypothyroidism and many others. In addition to constipation, there are other signs characteristic of each ailment.

How to help your baby?

What to do if your baby is constipated? The very first action should be to find out the cause that led to constipation and eliminate the negative factor. If there is a problem in the mother’s diet (during breastfeeding), it is necessary to adjust and adjust the diet of the nursing woman. When the cause of constipation is the wrong choice of food for the baby, you should check with your pediatrician or nutritionist about what and how to feed the baby and immediately correct all errors. It is advisable to use vegetable/fruit purees prepared independently according to all the rules. Unfortunately, store-bought products cannot always boast of excellent quality.

Helping the baby with different types constipation:

Constipation of a spastic nature can be easily eliminated with a therapeutic massage: the baby’s tummy is massaged with delicate stroking movements in a clockwise direction. You can also apply a warm towel to the outer abdominal wall or hold the baby close to you - the warmth of the mother’s body will help eliminate spasms, relax the child’s intestines, and calm the child.
Atonic constipation requires a stimulating massage with further laying of the baby on the tummy. The simplest exercise that triggers intestinal motility is “bringing” the baby’s lower limbs to his tummy, the “bicycle” exercise.
The situation is more complicated when there is constipation of an organic nature associated with anatomical defects of the intestines. Parents should contact an experienced specialist who will conduct a thorough diagnosis and decide on a therapeutic strategy. Often it is possible to get rid of the problem only through surgery.

Against the background of antibiotic therapy, constipation that appears requires restoration of the intestinal microflora. For this purpose, special preparations containing beneficial bacteria (lactobacterin, bifidobacterin, etc.) are used. Only they can improve the situation. They are prescribed by a doctor.

Medication assistance

If your baby has functional constipation, you can try to help the baby with medications. The use of all laxatives, the effect of which is based on irritation of the intestinal walls, is prohibited for children in the first year of their life. Also, you should not resort to salt osmotic drugs that weaken the stool.

It is not advisable to do enemas; they can only be prescribed in desperate situations. The instructions for the modern local laxative “Microlax” for children indicate that it can be used for newborn babies and infants. This is a ready-made solution with a viscous consistency, intended for administration in the form of a microenema. The tip is immersed into the intestine only ½ of its length (the tip has special marks).

Without the risk of harming the health of the baby during the first year of life, you can use products that contain lactulose. Such a drug is Duphalac, for example. It acts delicately, sparingly, and is not addictive. Some doctors advise starting use with minimal doses and only if the desired result is not achieved, increase the dosage. After 6 months and for older children, the laxative medication “Forlax” is allowed for constipation, which also does not lead to addiction and has a mild effect. Sometimes rectal glycerin suppositories are used.
It must be remembered that all these medications should not be used constantly - you need to identify the root cause of constipation and try to eliminate it as quickly as possible. Moreover, even the safest pharmacological agent can cause harm if used uncontrolled, in violation of the age-appropriate dosage, too often. There is no place for amateur activity here; medications are selected by a specialist.

Some mothers try to eliminate constipation in their infants using folk, non-traditional methods. You need to be extremely careful with such recipes and it is better not to resort to them without the permission of your pediatrician.

Preventive measures

It is much easier to prevent constipation in a baby than to struggle with intestinal upset for a long time and painfully. What are the preventive measures?

The diet of a nursing mother should be balanced in terms of the content of the main nutrients. It is not recommended to eat allergenic foods, spicy foods, too fatty and sweet foods, which pass through mother's milk to the baby and can very easily disrupt the functioning of his digestive canal and lead to constipation. Only high quality food products are selected.
The time of introducing complementary foods and its nature should be agreed upon with the pediatrician who monitors the development and health of the baby. Products must be appropriate for the baby’s age so that his intestines can cope with the processing of food and do not become “upset” in a state. Be sure to monitor the quality of food and the amount of liquid consumed.
Protect the child from stress. Separation from mother is unacceptable. The only exceptions can be serious illnesses of a woman or her baby.
Provide adequate physical activity for the baby.

The main causative diseases manifested by stool consolidation need to be treated in a timely manner. Correction of most of these pathologies requires hospitalization.

Conclusions

A doctor will help you properly organize your baby’s intestines. He will examine the baby, identify the real causes of the disorders, and recommend safe, effective therapeutic methods and effective medications.

You cannot delay going to the doctor, especially in situations where constipation in a baby is accompanied by a deterioration in the general condition, severe crying, and anxiety. In children in the first days/months of life, constipation can be a symptom of organic intestinal pathologies that can only be corrected surgically. Contact an experienced specialist; he will be able to rule out serious illnesses. Don't endanger the health and life of your little miracle!

In the first months of life, many infants torment their parents with constipation. Their intestines cannot function normally. Sometimes failures occur that cause a lot of trouble for both the child and the mother. If this phenomenon occurs too often, then you need to consult a doctor. Quite often, mothers themselves try to relieve their newborn from constipation. Massage, beet juice, enema, oil are used. These remedies are not always effective, because first you need to find out the cause, and only then think about how to help your baby with constipation.

This problem is one of the most unpleasant, as it causes great concern to the child. He cries, is constantly capricious, cannot sleep and refuses to feed.

Not all parents understand the reason for this phenomenon, so they quickly begin to do an enema or give the baby juice. If your baby has not gone to the toilet for more than two days, you should be wary. This is a real sign of constipation. Very tiny babies can have bowel movements 3-4 times a day. With age, this number decreases to two.

It is necessary to be observant and monitor the child’s condition. Some babies may not go to the toilet every day, but they are happy, alert and well.

If the baby still does not have a bowel movement, and at the same time screams, refuses food, and does not sleep, it means that he simply cannot go to the toilet.

There are two types of constipation:

Organic. This condition occurs rarely and is detected in the maternity hospital. In this case, the intestines are initially built abnormally, so the baby simply does not know how to poop. Conventional means cannot help here; it must be treated surgically.
Functional. This phenomenon is much more common and is associated with stool retention in the body. The task of parents is to identify the cause in time, and only then select the appropriate treatment. Medicines are not always used. Sometimes beet juice, massage, vegetable oil or an enema can help.

Reasons

In order to choose the right treatment, you must first understand the causes of stool retention. There are several of them.

How to fix

Before starting treatment, it is worth clarifying that the child actually has stool retention, and only then starting treatment. It is necessary to pay attention to his condition and well-being. If you have any difficulties with this, it is better to consult a doctor. How should it be treated?

Many modern parents are interested in medications that can be given to their infants. However, pediatricians do not recommend treating children with them. Laxatives are definitely contraindicated for newborns.

You can only give Duphalac based on lactulose. However, it does not act quickly. If children have been holding stool for quite a long time, this medicine will not help.

There are other proven means:

If other means do not help, you can do an enema. To do this, you need to fill a small enema, 25 ml in volume, with warm boiled water, take vegetable oil, lubricate the tip of the tip with it and insert it into the baby’s rectum. The water should be released gently and gradually. The baby should begin to have bowel movements soon. The oil can also be mixed with water and then given an enema.

You can also use butter. Candles made from it not only relieve delays, but also soften the inner surface. Another extreme measure is vegetable oil on the tip of the pipette.

You can’t just resort to this method! It is used in cases where other recipes do not help.

Quite often, when teething, infants experience stool retention. There are several reasons for this. Perhaps the child simply has poor nutrition or high intestinal activity. Some doctors regard stool retention during teething as a normal phenomenon. The appearance of the first teeth always causes a lot of anxiety for parents. Children become restless and their temperature rises.

Constipation is also possible during teething. In such a situation, it is better to consult a doctor.

First aid

If nothing can be given to the child, and constipation does not go away, you should start doing a careful, gentle massage. First, the baby's tummy should be warmed. To do this, use a warm napkin or towel. Then you need to massage using gentle circular movements, lightly pressing on the tummy. Very often this helps. If the massage does not bring results, you can help the baby do a couple of exercises, such as cycling or scissors. The child will pass gas and have a bowel movement.

If standard treatment does not bring results, you can resort to more “heavy” means. These include glycerin suppositories and other drugs that irritate the intestinal sphincter. An enema should only be done after consulting a doctor.

Prevention

Constipation in newborns occurs frequently, and sometimes it is impossible to predict. However, there are a number of recommendations that will help somewhat avoid this unpleasant phenomenon:

Give your child beet juice in small quantities. But it is better to do this if the baby has already eaten “adult” food. If he has not yet become familiar with such food, he should not be given fruit juice or pulp. Otherwise, the intestines will become even more upset.
You should consult a pediatrician about the problem. Doctors give valuable instructions to help avoid this phenomenon.
It wouldn't hurt to do a light massage. Even the most gentle stroking of a child's soft tummy by a mother's hand brings him relief. You should not make too sudden and strong movements, you should be careful.
Mom needs to watch her diet, eat as many light, nutritious foods as possible. It is better to limit the consumption of baked goods and sweets.

If constipation does occur, do not be too scared and immediately rush to give your child juice, butter or an enema. It is worth showing the baby to the doctor to find out the cause.

Among all the existing ailments, children under one year of age are most often bothered by constipation. Often, constipation in a newborn occurs within a few days after birth. This pathology It is important to eliminate it in time, otherwise it can lead to a deterioration in the baby’s general condition.

Briefly about constipation

During normal organ function gastrointestinal tract and intestines, the act of defecation occurs daily. The process most often occurs in the morning and does not cause discomfort or pain. Feces have a soft structure and a person does not need to make any effort to pass them.

If the process of defecation does not occur every day or the act of defecation requires strain, and the feces become too hard and dry, then in this case we can talk about constipation.

Problems with stool occur in at different ages. Most often, newborns and elderly people suffer from this pathology. Their bad bowel movements can last from several days to months. The urge to defecate causes severe abdominal pain and often ends in nothing.

Patients often complain of poor health and ruptures of the anus. The latter forces a person to restrain the occasional urge to defecate, which subsequently aggravates the problem even more.

If long time no, then the illness becomes more complicated. This process is explained by the breakdown of waste products accumulated in the intestinal cavity.

The correct treatment for bad stool is to eliminate the underlying cause of the disease. Therefore, to restore normal bowel movements, a complete diagnosis of the body should be carried out. Only a doctor can prescribe the correct therapy.

Constipation in a newborn: causes

There are quite a few factors that influence the appearance of problems with bowel movements in babies. Often, stool retention occurs due to a lack of fluid in the body. After all, as you know, water is a kind of lubricant for the intestines. It moistens accumulated stool, making it softer and easier to pass.

In addition, the causes of constipation in a newborn can be:

congenital abnormalities of the intestine or colon;
narrowing of the anus;
hypothyroidism (poor production of thyroid hormones);
immaturity of nerve endings in the intestinal walls.

Also, the development of constipation in infants can be affected by certain medicines. This especially applies to antibiotics. They destroy the normal intestinal flora and lead to dysbiosis. In this case, it is important to show the baby to the pediatrician and restore the bacterial balance. This is the only way to get rid of delayed bowel movements.

Constipation in a newborn may occur for the following reasons:

maternal malnutrition;
early introduction of complementary foods;
mixed feeding.

Sometimes constipation in infants occurs as a symptom of the body's intolerance to certain components included in the artificial formula for feeding. Therefore, doctors often advise parents, if stagnation occurs in the intestines, to change the baby formula.

Also the cause of poor bowel movements and complete absence defecation often becomes a psychological factor. It can be provoked by a long separation of the baby from his mother, for example, due to her illness.

The main cause of constipation in a newborn is poor nutrition of the mother. You need to give up astringent and fatty foods and drink enough liquid. Problems with bowel movements in infants may be caused by:

sudden transition to artificial feeding;
quick change of mixture;
predominance of proteins and fats in the diet;
the presence of various damage to the central nervous system;
problems with the thyroid gland;
iron deficiency;
rickets.

If your child experiences constipation regularly, he or she may develop a fear of bowel movements. Children are afraid of pain, afraid of parental disapproval. You will need to consult a pediatrician and psychologist.

At the same time, in adolescents, constipation often begins due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Children drink soda, fast food, and eat irregularly. At this age, the cause of the disorder can be not only physical inactivity, but also too intense physical activity while maintaining the usual calorie intake. This phenomenon is observed due to the acceleration of metabolism in a growing body.

Lack of bowel movements in children due to mixed feeding

It is laid down by nature that a baby is supposed to feed exclusively on mother's milk. That's why constipation in a newborn with mixed feeding a very common occurrence.

The baby is often given additional artificial formula due to a lack of breast milk or its poor quality. Sometimes it happens that children do not get enough of their mother’s milk, since it has insufficient fat content. In this case, the kids behave restlessly, sleep poorly and are capricious all the time.

The reason for the accumulation of feces in the intestines during mixed feeding is the mixture itself. Such food is unusual for a small organism and it cannot cope with its digestion. Often, the introduction of new food causes a reflex spasm in infants, which provokes stagnation of feces in the intestines and leads to constipation.

Also, stool retention when feeding with formula can occur due to incorrect food temperature. The child's food should not be hot or cold. It is best to focus on the temperature of breast milk. This will help avoid problems with bowel movements.

In addition, constipation when introducing complementary foods often occurs due to insufficient consumption of dietary fiber, which affects the stimulation of the muscles of the digestive tract.

Why does stool retention occur during breastfeeding?

Constipation in a breastfed newborn often develops due to insufficient milk production. This lack of stool is called starvation constipation. In this case, you can get rid of the problem with bowel movements only by introducing additional complementary foods.

Improper nutrition of the mother can provoke a stagnation process in the intestines of the newborn. After all, what it is definitely enters the child’s body through milk. Therefore, during breastfeeding, doctors strongly recommend that women adhere to a light diet, avoiding:

legumes;
fatty and fried;
smoked meats;
white bread and fresh pastries;
bananas;
coffee;
milk;
sugar;
strong tea;
meat, etc.

All products that affect gas formation in the body cause constipation in infants. Therefore, to prevent this problem, the mother should adhere to proper nutrition.

Symptoms of stagnation in the intestines

The clinical picture of constipation in infants depends on the cause of its development. The disease itself is manifested by the absence of bowel movements for more than a day or heavy passage of feces. Most often, with poor bowel movements, the baby experiences:

anxiety and tearfulness;
moodiness;
bloating;
refusal of food;
colic;
tension and redness of the face when trying to defecate;
hardening of the tummy.

If there are problems with the intestines, children behave passively and sleep poorly. If constipation is caused by serious illnesses, then the main symptoms may include:

nausea and vomiting;
increase in temperature;
allergic rash;
changes in skin color;
an admixture of mucus or blood in the stool;
severe hiccups.

In such cases, it is necessary to show the child to the pediatrician as soon as possible. What to do for constipation in newborns , especially if they are caused by pathologies in the gastrointestinal tract, only a doctor knows.

How to help your baby with constipation

The first thing to do if there is prolonged constipation in a newborn is to visit a pediatrician. It is very important to exclude all serious and life-threatening causes of constipation, therefore, the baby needs to undergo laboratory and instrumental studies.

What to do if no deviations were detected during the diagnosis? In such cases, the causes of problems with defecation are: abrupt introduction of the formula, poor quality of milk, or immaturity of the nervous system.

To improve the condition and restore stool, newborns are prescribed complex therapy consisting of:

massage;
proper nutrition of the mother;
medicines;
enemas;
gas outlet pipe.

Let's look at some of them in a little more detail.

Drug therapy

Drug treatment for newborns is prescribed only if massages and diet do not bring the desired result. To improve intestinal function and fecal output, children under one year of age are prescribed the following medications:

Espumisan.
Rectal glycerin suppositories.
Duphalac.
Plantex.
Enema.

Duphalac and Plantex helps activate intestinal motility. Espumisan - eliminate bloating. Rectal suppositories soften accumulated stool and facilitate its easy passage.

As for the procedure for cleaning the intestines with an enema, it can be done no more than once a week. Otherwise, the child may also experience a lack of minerals and vitamins. As a solution for babies, use ordinary water, which must be boiled and cooled to body temperature. It is recommended to add glycerin oil.

Mother's diet

How to overcome constipation in a newborn? What should the mother do? First of all, a woman who is breastfeeding must give up all bad habits and adjust her diet. The following will help improve digestion and bowel movements in infants:

dill and parsley;
fresh vegetables;
adding a couple of drops of olive oil to food vegetable oil;
vegetable soups with water;
prunes;
dried apricots;
boiled pumpkin and beets;
low-fat fermented milk products (without food additives).

In addition, the mother should adhere to the drinking regime. It is also important not to forget to give your baby water after meals or between feedings.

Therapeutic massages and exercises to restore stool

The best and in a safe way Abdominal massage activates peristalsis and causes the release of accumulated gases in a newborn. You should not resort to this manipulation if the baby cries when you touch and press on the tummy. In this case, it is best to contact your pediatrician.

Massage to a newborn should be done carefully and gently, following the following instructions:

remove the child’s clothes and place them on their back;
do not apply large number oils on palms;
check if the baby is allergic to oil;
Next, lightly stroke the navel (clockwise) for about 5 minutes;
at the end you need to do several direct pulling strokes from top to bottom of the abdomen.

After the massage, you can begin exercises to restore intestinal function and peristalsis:

put the baby on his back;
alternately bend and straighten the legs, pressing them to the stomach, holding them by the ankles;
repeat the exercise, only bend your legs not one by one, but simultaneously (about 5 times);
Place the child tummy down on the parent's lap and make several circular strokes starting from the shoulder blades and going down to the sacrum.

In addition, doctors advise placing the baby on its tummy before each meal and keeping it in this position for 3–8 minutes.

Oils

To prevent and eliminate existing constipation, newborns can be given a few drops of oil daily.

What not to do!

Often, lovers of traditional medicine advise young mothers, if their child is constipated, to use laundry soap. Some people are really sure that if you place a piece of soap in a child’s anus, all problems with bowel movements will go away.

This is a misconception and an unacceptable method of intestinal stimulation! This soap contains a large amount of alkali, which will negatively affect the healthy intestinal microflora. In addition, such treatment can cause ulcers, bleeding and severe irritation in the rectum.
If your child has problems with bowel movements and you don’t know how to behave, you don’t need to follow the lead of grandmothers and other advisers. It is better to contact a specialist and follow his recommendations.

Infants are very delicate creatures, the structure of their body is so unique and specific that it is sometimes difficult for parents to understand when constipation in an infant really occurs, and when a temporary absence of stool is a variant of the physiological norm.

Constipation in a baby is a symptom of some kind of disorder, which can sometimes signal a serious pathology, so you should consult a doctor as soon as possible if such a problem is detected.

The difficulty in diagnosing constipation in young children is that they cannot express their complaints or somehow signal a feeling of discomfort or pain. Therefore, many parents often begin to panic and their actions only aggravate the situation.

If possible, it is better not to interfere with work at all. internal organs children, in particular, in the functioning of the digestive tract. This is especially true for dubious methods that are described on Internet forums.

It is necessary to contact your local pediatrician and consult with him. The doctor will explain in detail what to do if your baby is constipated and how to avoid relapses.

In medicine, it is customary to diagnose constipation in the following cases:

no stool for more than a day;
a feeling of incomplete bowel movement after defecation is formed;
there are hard stools;
there is a need for excessive straining during bowel movements.

Before considering the pathology of bowel movements, you must first learn about the normal functioning of the child’s digestive tract.

Actually, the first days of life are characterized by stool, which in medicine is called meconium. At its core, these are the remains of intestinal cells that functioned while the baby was in the womb.

Immediately after birth, these cells die off, as they are no longer needed.

This stool also contains breakdown products of amniotic fluid, which somehow entered the child’s body. Normally, the first meconium passes immediately after the first feeding. Its color is darkish, very rarely almost black, it has no odor, and its consistency is somewhat reminiscent of toothpaste.

During the first 24 hours of life, a newborn baby should have bowel movements 1-3 times a day. After the second day, when all the meconium has passed, the structure of the stool changes, depending on the mother’s diet.

Constipation often occurs immediately after the introduction of complementary foods. If they are observed when feeding exclusively breast milk, then you should pay attention to:

The mother's diet should be balanced.
Compliance with the drinking regime, both by the mother and the baby himself. Doctors recommend paying special attention to your baby’s drinking during the hot season or when the child spends a long time in a room with dry air.
Composition of formula for formula-fed children. The mixture must be selected strictly individually. Nowadays the market offers a large number of adapted mixtures based on fermented milk products and prebiotics.

Rules and features of introducing complementary foods for infants suffering from constipation

Complementary feeding for constipation in infants should be carried out at the same time as for healthy children: no earlier than 4 months and gradually. Always start with small portions.

When babies have bowel retention, many mothers begin to panic. After all, constipation in a newborn is accompanied by abdominal pain, sleep disturbances, regurgitation and other unpleasant phenomena. In other words, the baby experiences severe discomfort and makes it clear to the parents in every way. Often mothers do not understand why a baby who eats only milk has problems with bowel movements. Are there effective measures against the disease?

The digestive system in children in the first months of life is quite imperfect. Babies are susceptible to flatulence and stool retention. It happens that the cause can be artificial feeding (IF), because it is very difficult to find a formula that fully replaces breast milk.

Before you start treating constipation, you need to find out the cause of it:

poor nutrition of the mother during breastfeeding;
insufficient water intake;
mixed feeding;
a sharp transition to IW;
abrupt change of mixture to IV.

If a mother's diet lacks fiber-rich foods, she and her baby will become constipated. When breastfeeding, doctors recommend eating more vegetables and fruits, and less flour and confectionery products.

Constipation in a newborn can be caused by insufficient drinking water. After all, the body strives to retain fluid during its shortage, and the baby’s feces harden and linger in the intestines.

When transferring a child to IV, parents should exercise caution. The baby’s body must get used to the mixture gradually, otherwise a malfunction will occur in his digestive system. The same rule applies to transferring a baby from one formula to another. Mixed feeding can also affect the baby's digestion. It is difficult for a child to adapt to formula and breast milk at the same time.

Symptoms

The main symptom of constipation in a newborn is stool retention for 36 to 48 hours. Normally, breastfeeding babies should have frequent stools (2-4 times a day), have a runny consistency and a sour smell. With IV, the number of bowel movements in a child is 1–2 times a day, the consistency is thicker.

Constipation is also characterized by the following symptoms:

the child draws up his legs and cries;
the baby's tummy is hard and tense;
Moodiness and sleep disturbance are observed.

You can suspect constipation in a baby if:

previously his stool was also hard;
During defecation, the baby cried (as he experienced painful sensations).

First aid

Every mother wants to know how to help her newborn with constipation. It is necessary to treat the child, namely provide first aid, in the case when there is no bowel movement for more than 48 hours. This is easier to do than it seems.

1. Special exercises help with constipation in a newborn:

Place the child on his back and massage the abdomen. Movements during the massage must be made with the palm of your hand, stroking the tummy clockwise around the navel.
do a “bicycle” exercise with your baby: lay him on his back, raise the baby’s legs and spin imaginary “pedals” with them.

2. Place the child on his tummy to make it easier to empty his bowels under pressure.

3. For newborns, there are special laxatives for constipation. You can treat a child with them if the methods listed above do not help.

"Duphalac" is a laxative that gently softens the child's stool and removes it from the intestines. Approved for use in children from birth. Newborns are prescribed a dose of 3–5 ml. Helps get rid of the problem within 2 days.
"Plantex" is a herbal remedy based on fennel. Removes gases from the intestines, improves peristalsis, and helps soften stools. The drug is produced in the form of powder for brewing tea. Recommended for use in children from 2 weeks of age. To prepare tea, 1 bag is dissolved in 100 ml of boiled water. The resulting liquid is divided into 3 doses and given to the baby to drink.

4. Glycerin suppositories are the fastest way to treat constipation in a newborn. Glycerin helps soften stools and also causes reflex bowel movements. To administer to a newborn, an ordinary glycerin suppository is cut crosswise into 4 parts, after which a quarter is inserted into the child’s anus. First, place the baby on his back or side and bend his legs.

5. Enema. When all of the above methods do not help relieve constipation, you can try giving the newborn an enema. To do this, you need to purchase a special bulb with a soft tip at the pharmacy. Warm (35–36) boiled water is filled into the bulb and the tip is lubricated with glycerin. The baby needs to be placed on his back and legs tucked up, carefully insert the tip and perform an enema.

These methods are suitable for any child, regardless of age. They can be used if the child is a newborn or just one month old.

There are also folk remedies that can be used to relieve a newborn from unpleasant symptoms:

cook the dill for 2–3 minutes, then strain the water and give the baby 1 teaspoon to drink before and after meals, three times a day;
if a child sucks a pacifier, you can dip it in honey (if there is no allergy to this product) and give it to the child (repeat the procedure no more than once a day);
make a compote of dried fruits (figs and prunes), give the child 1 teaspoon to drink several times throughout the day;
Before feeding, drop a few drops of vegetable oil on the baby’s tongue, and then continue feeding.

Prevention

Treating stool retention is more difficult than following preventive measures. It is necessary to prevent the recurrence of constipation in your baby thanks to the following rules:

1. Regardless of breastfeeding or artificial feeding, the child should be given boiled water several times a day.

2. The mother of a baby on breastfeeding needs to eat more vegetables and fruits. (We advise you to read: Constipation in a newborn during breastfeeding). You need to avoid the following products:

flour and confectionery products;
legumes;
white cabbage;
carbonated drinks.

3. You need to switch to IV or a new formula gradually, replacing one feeding per day.

4. Before feeding, it is advisable for the baby to massage the abdomen and do cycling exercises. After the massage, you can lay the baby on his tummy.

5. For IV, it is better to choose a mixture containing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. In most cases, it is well tolerated by newborns and does not cause constipation.

6. When mixed feeding, preference in quantity should be given to breast milk.

Will be useful: Diet for constipation in children

Let's sum it up

Constipation in a newborn can develop for various reasons, because the gastrointestinal tract gradually adapts to a new way of eating. It is necessary to adjust the diet of a nursing mother. In IV, much attention should be paid to the choice of mixture and a smooth transition to it. Before fighting the disease, you need to eliminate the root cause, and then treat the child and follow preventive measures.

It is not recommended to abuse the use of glycerin suppositories and enemas. The drugs have a negative effect on intestinal motility.
Folk remedies should be used with caution and only after consultation with a specialist.
A pediatrician can cure frequently recurring constipation (10–15 times a month).
Before using laxatives, carefully read the instructions and follow the dosage indicated therein.