Immediately upon arrival from the hospital, many young parents face various problems, among others, questions arise: how to help the baby go to the toilet in large measure, how often the baby should empty the intestines, and why the baby has constipation.
Constipation in a baby
Causes
The normal frequency of bowel movements in adults is 1 time per day, many mothers transfer this standard to a newborn baby, which is absolutely wrong. Typically, a nursing infant will cleanse the intestines once every two to three days. The first stool of a newborn baby is called meconium (residual discharge from the intrauterine period of development, which is a mass of soft consistency, dark in color and without a pungent odor), some mothers do not even see it if the first time after childbirth is separated from the baby.
A normal healthy child can go to the toilet a lot once every 2 or even 3 days. If the newborn sleeps and eats well, then stool every 3 days is not a cause for concern.
Babies who are breastfed may have soft, sometimes even liquid, light or greenish stools with food debris (if complementary foods are introduced). The frequency of bowel movements can be any - it depends on the individual characteristics of the baby's body and the composition of breast milk.
Newborns receiving artificial nutrition empty their intestines once a day or two, the feces have a denser consistency.
Until now, experts have not determined clear norms for the frequency of bowel movements in an infant. The main indicator of the problem is the condition of the infant.
Constipation is the occurrence of problems with the process and frequency of bowel cleansing.
Signs of constipation in a newborn:
- poor sleep and restless behavior;
- pulling the legs up to the tummy;
- poor weight gain for a month;
- lack of appetite;
- frequent attempts to push, twisting with legs, grunting and crying with anguish;
- flatulence and a bloated tummy;
- bad breath;
- prolonged delay in bowel movement, triggered by medication, especially antibiotics;
- feces are solid, pea-like.
Constipation symptoms
If the baby cannot poop for several days, but the listed symptoms are not observed, then these are the individual characteristics of the baby's body, and not constipation. In this case, making the baby poop is not the best idea.
Constipation can occur for several reasons:
- changes in the infant's diet;
- with HV, unbalanced nutrition of the mother and a lack of fluid in her diet;
- insufficient amount of food (it happens in the first days of a fragile baby's life, when the mother's lactation has not yet improved);
- improperly selected formula for artificial feeding;
- water imbalance in the baby's body;
- lack of physical activity in the crumbs;
- inflammatory process in the digestive tract;
- congenital pathologies of the digestive tract;
- neuroses.
How to help a baby to poop
If a situation arises that a newborn cannot go to a large extent, what to do? Identifying and eliminating the causes of the ailment solve the problem gradually, the baby asks for help and does not stop crying. In such cases, pediatricians recommend:
- Get a massage. With ten gentle circular movements in a clockwise direction in the navel area, they help the baby to achieve the result.
- The use of laxatives. Glycerin suppositories and oral laxatives work well for constipation.
Note! Manufacturers recommend glycerin suppositories for use by children from 3 months of age. For newborn crumbs, candles with a children's dosage are divided into 2-3 parts and, before being inserted into the anus, a round stick is formed from the cut part with the fingers.
Glycerin candles
- Using an enema.
- Traditional medicine.
Important! Before using traditional medicine, be sure to consult a doctor to avoid allergic reactions.
The use of traditional medicine has a number of specific advantages:
- decoctions and infusions are based on natural medicinal plants without chemical elements;
- the ingredients of home preparations are harmless to the baby;
- quickly have a laxative effect;
- help to eliminate colic and reduce flatulence;
- activate intestinal motility and peristalsis;
- stimulate the emergence of natural urge to defecate;
- available for making and home use.
Despite the obvious advantages, the use of home remedies requires compliance with certain requirements:
- Preparations with hay, rhubarb root and buckthorn bark are prohibited for babies under 1 year old.
- When making decoctions for babies, do not use several components at the same time.
- Therapy begins with a minimum dose of the drug, after which the body's reaction is monitored.
- Treatment continues until the gastrointestinal tract is restored.
Using traditional medicine methods
If a child cannot poop for several days, then one of the effective traditional medicine is sunflower oil. It promotes softening of stool and gentle bowel movement.
Application - 15 drops of sunflower oil are mixed in a spoon with a small amount of breast milk or infant formula and given to the newborn one hour before meals. From half a year in the evenings they cook and give the child a mixture of butter and kefir, in the morning they get the desired result.
Important! "Grandma's" advice for treating constipation in children using a piece of soap injected into the anus is not recommended by pediatricians.
Herbal medicine for constipation
Flax seeds contain minerals and dietary fiber that help to gently cleanse the child's intestines from feces.
Flax seed treatments:
- 60 g of boiling water is poured into 1 teaspoon of ground flaxseed, stirred and infused for a quarter of an hour in a sealed container. ½ teaspoon of infusion is mixed with water or milk and given to the newborn 3 times a day;
- 50 g of crushed flaxseed is poured with 250 g of hot water and insisted in a thermos for 8 to 10 hours. Apply several times a day for a tablespoon.
The famous dill water, which relieves gastrointestinal spasm and relaxes intestinal smooth muscles, is prepared from fennel seeds. Traditional medicine recommends the use of this drug from the moment of birth not only for the treatment of constipation, but also for the prevention of disorders of the digestive tract.
Dill water
Preparation of dill water
Pour a tablespoon of fennel seeds with a glass of boiling water and leave for 1.5 hours. The infusion is filtered and given to the baby a teaspoon 15 minutes before meals. With hepatitis B mother within 5 minutes. keeps dill water under the tongue for 30 minutes. before feeding.
Traditional medicine recommends the use of laxative preparations for children in the first year of life:
- Fennel seeds - 3 g, licorice root - 10 g, ground flax seed - 15 g. Pour the ingredients with a glass of boiling water and simmer in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. 2 tablespoons of broth are given to the baby before bedtime.
- Pharmacy chamomile - 40 g, dill seeds - 10 g, dandelion root - 5 g. Prepare a decoction according to the previous scheme and give the crumbs 2 tablespoons 2 times a day.
- Pharmacy chamomile - 2 tablespoons, oregano herb - 1 tablespoon. The mixture is poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted for 8 hours. Filter and take 1-2 tablespoons 2 times a day.
Fermented milk products are also effective if the newborn cannot poop. Fresh (daily) kefir removes toxins from the intestines, normalizes the gastrointestinal tract, is a natural prevention of dysbiosis, and has laxative properties. Children are given a drink warmed to room temperature. To increase the laxative effect, kefir is mixed with sunflower or olive oil.
In order for the baby to go to the toilet in large measure, the parents give him plums, which have good laxative properties, mashed potatoes from fresh berries are introduced as a complementary food not earlier than at 8 months. Until this time, the baby is given a decoction or infusion of prunes. From 6 months you can give compote from prunes, dried apricots, raisins and dried apples.
Baby can't poop
When an enema is needed
This is a drastic measure. They are used extremely rarely, so as not to cause addiction and disruption of the digestive tract. An enema is done when:
- food poisoning;
- the need to use rectal drugs;
- prolonged constipation.
Important! Pediatricians forbid doing enemas for prophylactic purposes, since the procedure washes out the intestinal microflora, which is still being formed in the baby.
Young children are given 4 types of enemas:
- Cleansing (cleanses the intestines with constipation or before certain procedures). For this procedure, use boiled water with a temperature below 360.
- Medicinal (set for the administration of drugs). Carried out after a cleansing enema, use boiled water 370.
- Siphon (set for the treatment of severe poisoning and only in medical institutions).
- Oil (used for children's constipation).
Cleansing and oil enemas, if necessary, are given to the baby at home. To do this, prepare in advance:
- syringe (infants up to 1 month old use a syringe with an elastic nose No. 1),
- boiled water cooled to 28-300 or boiled vegetable oil cooled to 370,
- cream or petroleum jelly,
- oilcloth, cotton pad.
How to give an enema:
- The syringe is boiled for 30 minutes.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Prepare water, medicinal solution or enema oil, check their temperature with a thermometer.
- Remove water from boiling from the syringe and collect the prepared solution or oil (for a newborn, the volume of liquid is 20-30 ml, for a grown toddler - up to 40-50 ml).
- Lubricate the syringe tube with petroleum jelly or cream.
- They put the child on an oilcloth on the back or on the left barrel with the legs pressed to the tummy.
- Calm or distract the baby with a toy.
- Lubricate the anus with petroleum jelly or cream.
- The right hand vertically squeezes air out of the syringe.
- The buttocks are spread with the left hand, the syringe nose is gently inserted into the anus by about 2 cm.
- Slowly inject liquid and, without unclenching the syringe, take it out, apply a cotton pad to the anus.
- Squeeze the child's buttocks.
Enema
The baby will be able to pump itself after 30-40 seconds.
The relationship between mom's diet and baby's stool
If the baby is breastfed, then the mom's diet greatly affects the work of the baby's digestive system. Toilet problems can be triggered by:
- flour and pasta (especially fresh bread and muffins);
- rice in any dish;
- mushrooms;
- canned foods;
- strong tea and coffee;
- fatty rich broths;
- whole milk.
Breastfeeding mothers who are careful not to eat foods that cause negative effects on the newborn rarely have the question of how to help the baby poop. So that the problems with cleansing the intestines in the baby do not become systematic, the mother should include beets in her diet in any form, preferably boiled. Beet salad for a nursing mom is seasoned not with mayonnaise, but only with vegetable oil. Oatmeal or buckwheat porridge in the morning will be useful not only for mom, but also for the baby. The introduction of plums, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, fermented milk products into the mother's diet, or the use of a small amount of pear or plum juice will also have a good effect on the frequency of the baby's bowel movements. To improve the intestinal motility of the child, the mother needs to drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
Problems with bowel cleansing in a child
New foods on the menu of a nursing mother are introduced in small portions, then the baby's reaction is monitored. Each baby responds individually to changes in the mother's diet.
To improve the baby's stool and prevent constipation, the mother usually adheres to a laxative diet, but within the reasonable limits, frequent use of laxative foods will lead to diarrhea.
Preventive actions
A baby on HBV can have a chair every 3-4 days. Modern pediatricians consider this to be normal if the condition of the baby is satisfactory. In breastfed babies, constipation is rare if the mother is eating well. Most often, constipation is treated with a change in maternal nutrition.
Artificial children are more likely to have toilet problems. Dr. Komarovsky believes that this is due to a lack of water in the baby's body. To compensate for the lack of fluid, the child is given regular water to drink with the addition of a few drops of decoction from dill seeds. Milk formulas for crumbs are diluted exactly according to the instructions (the habit of some mothers to make the mixture more concentrated will not benefit the crumbs). Mixtures are selected with the presence of lactobacilli.
For the prevention of constipation, the child is often laid out on the tummy (within 5 minutes before feeding), tummy massage and gymnastics are done: they bend and unbend the legs at the knees, raise them up. Fitball exercise is also a prevention of constipation.
Preventive gymnastics
When to see a doctor
Parents do not always cope with constipation in children on their own. If constipation is accompanied by severe swelling and soreness of the tummy, bowel movements are rare and abundant and look like dense pellets, then specialist advice is necessary.
Important! In case of bloody or brown discharge, the child is immediately shown to the doctor.
Also, parents consult a pediatrician before using laxatives or using glycerin suppositories.
