Together with the newborn, many questions appear in the family, the answers to which are far from always obvious. For example, when worried about why a baby hasn’t pooped today, adults often think about constipation, which sometimes has nothing to do with the situation.
Newborn
Emptying mode for babies
Every adult knows that the health of the digestive system can be judged by the work of the intestines. If it is emptied every morning, you can be sure everything is in order.
This rule does not work when it comes to children in the first year of life. Babies are just learning to digest their first food - milk. In addition, children of this age are growing rapidly, active growth requires a maximum of high-quality building material. Therefore, the baby does not poop for several days - he simply has nothing, the body has assimilated everything and put it into action. This is especially the case with babies who are breastfed. Mother's milk, being the best product for an infant, is actively absorbed, leaving very little volume for feces to form. That is why the baby does not poop for 2-3 days.
The absolute norm for a breastfed baby is to have a bowel movement every three days. However, we must not forget about the individual characteristics of the child's body: if a month-old baby has a bowel movement once a week, while the baby is cheerful, actively growing and developing in accordance with age, this situation is also considered the norm.
Interesting! According to medical statistics, every third baby does not poop for 2 days in a row.
Happy child
What is considered constipation in a newborn
When a baby grunts but does not poop, it is a digestive disorder. Constipation in infants is considered to be the absence of stool, accompanied by one or more symptoms:
- the tummy has become hard;
- light massaging of the abdomen causes pain;
- constant attempts, often accompanied by grunting, do not work;
- the child's poor health is manifested by frequent and loud crying.
Some mothers may even see a piece of hard stool coming out of the anus when the baby is pushing but cannot poop.
What Causes Constipation in Newborns
If the baby does not poop, you should always start analyzing everything that he has eaten during the day. When it comes to babies under the age of 6 months who have not yet learned complementary foods, you need to analyze their basic nutrition.
Possible causes of constipation in babies:
- artificial feeding takes place out of proportion during the preparation of the adapted milk formula;
- an artificial child eats not a mixture, but milk from farm animals (cow or goat);
- a baby who is on mixed feeding receives as a supplement after breast milk instead of AMC, cow's or goat's milk.
It is important that the mother observes the rules for preparing milk formula, which are indicated on the package. If for a three-month-old baby, a single serving should consist of 180 ml of water and 6 measuring spoons, then you cannot add a different amount of components. If you increase the amount of powdered formula or decrease the volume of water, the child may become constipated due to the high concentration of milk protein.
If a mother feeds her baby with cow or goat milk, this also becomes the reason why the baby poops badly. Milk of farm animals in the stomach of a child under the influence of gastric juice is curdled, turning into large lumps. These, in turn, form hard lumps of stool, which make it very difficult for a baby, especially under 6 months old, to empty the bowel.
The danger of constipation for the child's body
Hard fragments of stool, passing through the intestine, traumatize its walls, which can cause bleeding. With a long delay of waste products in the body, intoxication begins due to the inevitable processes of decay.
In order for the rectum to start the process of muscle contractions that facilitate emptying, it is necessary that the feces create a certain pressure on the intestinal walls. With regular constipation, the area constantly clogged with feces begins to stretch. The next time, you will need an even larger volume of stool for this stretched piece of intestine to respond with muscle contraction and start the emptying process.
Pockets can form in the rectum, containing food fragments at all times. They will rot, and the body will suffer from poisons.
Important! It is impossible to deviate from the established recommendations for feeding infants, so that later you do not wonder why the child does not poop.
How to help your child have a bowel movement
If a child does not poop for 3 days and experiences discomfort, he needs help. There are several ways, both medicinal and natural, to help your baby to defecate.
Safe natural ways
Tummy massage helps small children. It activates intestinal peristalsis, which accelerates the passage of feces to the exit. What can be done if the baby does not poop, and the massages do not bring the desired result:
- give Lactulose syrup;
- use candles with glycerin;
- use micro enema Microlax.
Applying Lactulose syrup can safely help relieve constipation. Acting on intestinal peristalsis, the agent accelerates the movement of feces to the anus, while simultaneously softening hard fragments, facilitating defecation.
Suppositories with glycerin, after insertion into the anus, irritate the intestinal walls, starting the process of bowel movement, while simultaneously softening hardened feces. Babies do not need to administer the entire suppository. It needs to be divided into two or four parts. You can use this method no more than once a day when the baby does not poop.
Non-prescription drugs
Microclysters are also introduced into the anus. Its effect occurs within 15 minutes after administration. The caked feces under the action of the drug acquire a soft texture that comes out easily and painlessly.
What not to do with constipation
Often the older generation advises young parents what to do if the child does not poop. Based on their own experience, grandmothers suggest methods that are not only ineffective, but also terribly dangerous. Among them:
- introduction of a piece of laundry soap into the anus;
- using the tip of a mercury thermometer as a mechanical stimulus to the rectum;
- applying irritating ointments to the anal area.
Laundry soap and any irritating ointments not only cause discomfort, but also can burn the intestinal mucosa of the child. The introduction of the tip of a mercury thermometer is a terrible mistake that can end in failure.
Attention! A mercury thermometer must be used strictly for its intended purpose - to measure body temperature.
When to see a pediatrician
If a newborn baby does not poop by himself for more than 4 days, while his belly increases in size, the baby reacts negatively to touching the area around the navel, you need to contact a pediatrician.
First of all, with the help of modern diagnostics, specialists will confirm or exclude a dangerous diagnosis - Hirschsprung's disease, which occurs in 1 out of 5000 children born. The disease is manifested by the absence of nerve endings in a segment of the intestine that cannot contract, which means that feces in this area will accumulate, not being able to move on.
The second thing the doctor will do is prescribe a diet for the child or his mother if the baby is breastfeeding. Laxatives can be used as temporary therapy.
Doctor Komarovsky's advice
Pediatrician Evgeny Olegovich Komarovsky recommends keeping track of how much the child is consuming fluids. Its lack in the body leads to constipation. Older children should consume adequate amounts of fiber, which forms a bulky, soft stool that flushes out toxins and cholesterol. A diet that includes the daily consumption of vegetables and fruits will ensure easy and regular bowel movements, which means that the problem due to which the baby does not poop will disappear. Children who can chew and who are chronically constipated should be given slightly undercooked vegetables.
Working to prevent constipation in children
In order not to think about what to do if the newborn does not poop all day, you can prevent the occurrence of a problem by following simple rules:
- regularly lay the baby on his stomach, he will rub it against the surface, crawling, thereby massaging him;
- drink a decoction of raisins, it activates peristalsis and helps to defecate;
- start the morning with exercises, pay special attention to the exercise "bike".
Tummy massage
If a child poops badly, all adults need to do is analyze the baby's nutrition. By increasing the daily physical activity of children, be sure to include fruits and vegetables in the daily diet, it will be possible to forget about the problem forever.
