A digestive problem like constipation occurs in many babies and can be caused by a variety of factors. How can parents be sure that the baby is really constipated, and how can the baby be quickly helped?
Signs
To determine constipation in a baby, you need to simultaneously assess the frequency of bowel movements, the consistency of feces, and the condition of the baby. If a child has a stool for several days, then this condition is considered constipation in the case when such a delay manifests itself systematically, the baby is restless, crying while straining.
Stool for constipation is often presented as hard lumps or sausage from hard lumps. Feces in the form of a smooth or ribbed sausage, as well as mushy stools are not characteristic of constipation.
If the baby is pushing, grunting and restless during bowel movements, this is not always constipation. For children under one year old, it is normal to behave like this when emptying, if the appetite of the crumbs is not disturbed, and the consistency of the feces is not solid.
Possible reasons
- Most often, constipation in an infant is provoked by the following factors:
- Insufficient water supply. This reason is especially true for infants fed with formula, but even breastfed babies should be supplemented with water if the baby is in hot conditions or in a heated room with dry air.
- Mom has not enough milk.
- Abrupt changes in the baby's nutrition, for example, adding a mixture to the infant's diet, complementary foods, changing the formula, changing the diet of a nursing mother.
- Allergic reactions.
- Congenital pathologies of the digestive system.
- Functional disorders of the digestive tract.
- Disorders of potassium and calcium metabolism, rickets, thyroid diseases.
- Taking some medicines by a nursing mother or baby, for example, antibiotics, iron preparations, antispasmodics, and others.
- Fear of pain during bowel movements.
Read the opinion of E. Komarovsky about "psychological constipation" in another article.
When is it a major problem?
Absence of stool can be a manifestation of intussusception or obstruction. These pathologies require immediate attention and surgical treatment. If the baby does not poop for 1-3 days, and then a bloody clot is released from the crumbs, immediately call an ambulance. Also, you should be alerted by such symptoms accompanying constipation as fever, vomiting, refusal to eat, and severe crying.
Diseases
Constipation can be one of the symptoms of such serious diseases:
- Dolichosigma. With such a disease, the child's sigmoid colon is elongated, which is why it bends and puts unnecessary pressure on the rectum.
- Lactase deficiency. This pathology is characterized by a lack of an enzyme that breaks down milk sugar. In this case, the crumbs' constipation alternates with loose stools.
- Hirschsprung's disease. With such a disease, the innervation of some parts of the intestine is disturbed, as a result of which they contract and spasm, interfering with the movement of feces.
- Dolichocolon, double colon.
- Celiac disease.
- Myasthenia gravis, scleroderma.
- Hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, hyperparathyroidism.
How to help?
First of all, you need to try to identify the cause of the difficulty in defecating in a baby, excluding obvious reasons that are easy to correct. It is also important to take into account the type of feeding of the baby, since in breastfed babies, the causes of constipation are one, and in artificial children, others.
Read more about constipation with breastfeeding and constipation with bottle feeding in other articles.
The parents' actions will be:
- Correction of the menu of a nursing mother.
- Compliance with the drinking regime of the crumbs.
- Using a humidifier in winter (when heating is on).
- Change of milk mixture.
- Change of complementary foods.
- Frequent laying on the tummy.
- Massage the baby's abdomen with movements in a circle.
- Gymnastics with the baby - pressing the bent legs to the stomach.
- Adding mashed potatoes from apples, prunes, peaches, apricots, decoction of dried fruits to the diet of a baby older than 6 months.
If such actions did not help, you should go with the baby to the pediatrician. Your doctor can help determine the cause of your bowel movements and advise on effective ways to cope with constipation.
When do you need to give an enema?
Enema is not a natural way to induce evacuation. It should only be used in an emergency and after consulting a doctor. It is not recommended to administer enemas to the child systematically.
Microlax is a safe enema option for newborns. This is a ready-made solution presented in the form of microclysters.
Will lactulose syrup help?
Lactulose is a prebiotic with a mild laxative effect. Addiction does not develop to it. In addition, such a remedy has a beneficial effect on the state of the intestinal microflora.
Drugs that include lactulose are goodlak, normaze, dufalak, romfalak, portalak and others. There are no contraindications to such drugs, therefore they are allowed for children of any age, but since it is difficult to choose a dosage in each case, lactulose syrup should be used after a doctor's prescription.
When can you use glycerin candles?
Such a remedy is considered safe and harmless for young children, but many pediatricians advise against using candles with glycerin for babies. The use of such suppositories is permissible only in the form of emergency assistance after consulting a doctor, when other means have not worked. Babies are given candles for children or candles cut into quarters for adults. Such candles cannot be lit more than once a day. If the remedy does not work within an hour, it is forbidden to repeat the introduction of the candle and you must immediately call a doctor.
