Often young mothers whose children are breast-fed are faced with an unpleasant problem - constipation in infants. First of all, mothers should not panic, since constipation with artificial feeding is a fairly common occurrence. It is better to pay attention to the reasons that cause constipation, and methods that will help eliminate or avoid this nuisance.
Causes of constipation in a newborn
Pediatricians publicly say that constipation more often occurs in children who are on artificial feeding. The main reason for this is an unnatural milk mixture with a high content of fatty acids and artificial additives. Not yet adapted to the digestion of such difficult food, the baby’s gastrointestinal tract begins to “resent”. The digestion process is delayed, and the small intestine is not able to empty itself in time. It is artificial feeding that is the main cause of constipation.
Experts identify a number of reasons that affect digestive disorders and timely bowel movements:
- A sharp transition to a new type of food (in this case, artificial feeding);
- Low fluid intake, lack thereof;
- The use of different mixtures for feeding and their frequent change;
- Dysbacteriosis (See article on dysbiosis).
How to recognize constipation in a child?
Familiarize: Child's chair on IV
To determine if there is a difficulty in having a bowel movement, parents need to monitor the amount of emptying their child has. So if:
- There is no bowel movement for 2-4 days (See how many times a baby should be crap in 1 month);
- When trying to empty, the newborn blushes, pushes, puffs, cries;
- The baby’s tummy is too tight and swollen -
it is more likely to say that the baby has constipation.
In most cases, mothers are in no hurry to seek advice from specialists, but begin “treatment at home”: give the child more water, use baby soap to irritate the rectum, and massage the tummy. Often such actions end in success. Nevertheless, if the baby has difficulties with bowel movements quite often, it makes sense to consult a pediatrician. The doctor will give recommendations on the elimination of this problem, and if necessary, prescribe the appropriate treatment.
(Clickable. The picture leads to an article on the symptoms and treatment of constipation in newborns)
How to eliminate constipation in a newborn?
Before proceeding with the fight against constipation, you need to visit a pediatrician who will correctly determine the causes of delayed bowel movements and prescribe appropriate treatment. The pediatrician will also provide valuable advice regarding nutrition and the actions you need to take to eliminate constipation.
- Observe the correct diet.
The child should receive the milk mixture at a certain time and in equal amounts. No need to force the baby to drink the entire contents of the bottle if he does not want to. With artificial feeding, it is important to rationally organize the feeding regimen. It is advisable that the newborn receive food every 3 hours. See article how much should a newborn eat
Modern experts agree that when breastfeeding, it is nevertheless more correct to feed the baby on demand. In the case of the "artificial" this is not entirely suitable. Do not forget that artificial milk mixture is longer absorbed and more difficult to digest in the children's intestines. And frequent feeding can trigger constipation. Therefore, monitor the frequency of feeding and adhere to the recommended amounts.
- Spread the newborn on the tummy more often (recommended from 2 weeks).
This contributes to the discharge of gases and a decrease in the likelihood of problems with bowel movements.
- Do abdominal massage.
The technique of such a massage should be mastered by every mother. There is nothing tricky and complicated about this. It is necessary to stroke the baby’s tummy (in the intestinal area, without affecting the liver zone) in circular movements clockwise. See the article Tummy Massage
Video: top 6 massage movements for constipation in newborns
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- Give baby more fluid (water, dill water).
The components that make up milk formulas very often cause thirst in children. In this regard, it is necessary to timely meet the need of the “artificer” in the liquid. It is advisable to do this between the main feedings.
- In the case of dysbiosis - take drugs that normalize the intestinal microflora.
If the local pediatrician identifies dysbiosis as the cause of constipation, then he will definitely prescribe a course of drugs that improve the intestinal microflora. Such medications must be taken strictly as prescribed by the doctor and in strict accordance with the dosage indicated by him!
If all the proposed methods did not help to cope with bowel movements, the pediatrician may prescribe laxatives. The most common is Dufalac and its analogues. Rectal glycerin suppositories are well tolerated by newborns. These drugs can be taken only after consulting with your doctor.
We read:
For a long time this problem was not solved in our country ... From lactulose it only got worse, I screamed from candles, in general, they were more tormented than treated. And when he began to crawl, it passed. It seems to me that this is somehow connected, the press began to work, or something. Then there was the return of the problem in the first grade of the school, but there it was already possible to give regulax, everything was quickly decided.I can say that the kids either need to do massage or gymnastics, I did not focus on this, and then I realized that it would be more effective than drugs.