Babies oft get a long time between bowel movements. Most of the time, it is normal for a baby to get days or fifty-fifty more than than a week without a bowel movement. Still, a babe may sometimes exist constipated and need a little help.

If a infant is constipated, a pediatrician may recommend using dwelling remedies as a outset-line handling for baby constipation.

Home remedies for constipation in a infant include:

1. Practice

Mother moving baby's legs
Moving a infant's legs can aid salvage constipation.

Every bit with adults, exercise and movement tend to stimulate a baby's bowels.

However, as babies may not be walking or fifty-fifty crawling all the same, a parent or caregiver may want to help them do to salve constipation.

The parent or caregiver can gently move the infant's legs while they are lying on their back to mimic the motion of riding a bicycle. Doing this may help the bowels function and relieve constipation.

2. A warm bathroom

Giving a baby a warm bath tin can relax their abdominal muscles and help them stop straining. It can besides save some of the discomfort relating to constipation.

3. Dietary changes

Certain dietary changes may assist constipation, just these will vary depending on the babe'southward age and diet.

While breastfeeding a baby, a woman could eliminate sure foods, such equally dairy, from her diet. Information technology may take some trial and mistake to identify the dietary changes that assistance, and information technology is quite possible that changes in the diet will have no result on the babe'southward constipation.

For formula-fed babies, a parent or caregiver may desire to effort a different kind of formula. It is best not to switch to a gentle or dairy-complimentary formula without consulting a pediatrician showtime. If ane change does not make a difference, continuing to try different formulas is unlikely to assist.

If an infant is eating solid foods, parents or caregivers should look to introduce foods that are good sources of fiber.

Many fruits and vegetables tin help stimulate the bowels because of their higher fiber content. Good food choices for babies with constipation include:

  • skinless apples
  • broccoli
  • whole grains, such every bit oatmeal or whole-grain bread or pasta
  • peaches
  • pears
  • plums

4. Hydration

Young infants practice not typically need supplemental liquids every bit they get their hydration from breast milk or formula.

However, babies that are constipated may do good from a small amount of actress liquid.

Pediatricians sometimes recommend adding a pocket-size amount of h2o or, occasionally, fruit juice, to the baby'south nutrition when they are over 2–iv months former and are constipated.

five. Massage

There are several means to massage a babe's stomach to relieve constipation. These include:

  • Using the fingertip to make circular motions on the stomach in a clockwise blueprint.
  • Walking the fingers around the naval in a clockwise design.
  • Belongings the baby'southward knees and feet together and gently pushing the feet toward the belly.
  • Stroking from the rib cage down past the belly button with the edge of a finger.

6. Fruit juice

Cloudy apple juice on wooden table with whole green apples in background
A small amount of pure apple juice can help soften stool.

After a babe reaches 2–4 months of age, they can take a small amount of fruit juice, such as 100-percent prune or apple tree juice. This juice may help treat constipation.

Experts may recommend starting with about 2–4 ounces of fruit juice. The sugar in the juice is hard to digest. As a result, more liquid enters the intestines, which helps soften and break up the stool.

Notwithstanding, a parent or caregiver should not requite fruit juice to a baby for the first fourth dimension without consulting their pediatrician.

7. Taking a rectal temperature

When a baby is constipated, taking the baby'southward rectal temperature with a clean, lubricated thermometer may assist them pass stool.

It is important not to use this method very often, every bit it can make constipation worse. The baby may beginning not wanting to pass a bowel motion without assistance, or they may brainstorm to acquaintance having a bowel movement with discomfort, leading them to fuss or cry more during the process.

Anyone who feels every bit though they often need to use this method to help the baby have a bowel movement should talk to the babe's medico.

As infants may go for extended periods without a bowel move, information technology can be hard to tell if they are constipated. Signs that betoken constipation in a baby include:

  • infrequent stools that are not soft in consistency
  • clay-like stool consistency
  • difficult pellets of stool
  • long periods of straining or crying while trying to have a bowel movement
  • streaks of red blood in the stool
  • lack of ambition
  • a difficult belly

Signs of constipation in babies vary depending on their age and diet. A normal bowel motility before a baby begins eating solid food should be very soft, almost like the consistency of peanut butter or fifty-fifty looser.

Hard infant stool prior to solid food is the most obvious indication of constipation in babies.

At get-go, breastfed babies may pass stool often since breast milk is easy to digest. However, once a baby is between iii and 6 weeks old, they may only pass a big, soft stool once a week and sometimes even less.

Formula-fed babies tend to laissez passer stool more frequently than breastfed babies. Most formula-fed babies volition have a bowel movement at least once a day or every other day. However, some formula-fed babies may go longer between bowel movements without beingness constipated.

In one case a parent introduces solid food to a baby'south diet, a babe may be more likely to feel constipation. A babe may as well exist more likely to become constipated if a parent or caregiver introduces cow's milk (other than formula) to their diet.

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A doctor should assess a baby with ongoing constipation.

Information technology is advisable to phone call a pediatrician if a baby has not passed a stool after a twenty-four hour period or two and at that place are other signs present, such as:

  • blood in the stool
  • the baby seems to be irritable
  • the baby appears to take abdominal pain
  • in that location is no improvement in the infant's constipation later taking steps to treat information technology

Treatment typically starts with habitation remedies. If dwelling house remedies do non work, a doc may examine the baby and, in rare cases, prescribe medications, such as:

  • laxatives
  • enemas
  • suppositories

People should never requite these medications to a baby unless a doctor prescribes them.

Constipation can lead to discomfort and irritability in a baby. People tin can try several at-habitation methods to help convalesce constipation.

If symptoms do non improve, it is all-time to speak to the infant's pediatrician for additional strategies.

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