Constipation In A Newborn Baby, What To Do?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 09:49

Constipation in a newborn baby, what to do?

Content:

• Description of the disease
• Causes of constipation in newborns
• Foods that cause constipation in babies:
• Increased gas production
• What to do with constipation in a newborn?
• Massage for constipation in newborns
• Mother's diet and mixture selection
• Medications
• Soap for constipation in newborns

Description of the disease

Constipation in infants is a painful condition characterized by slow and difficult bowel movements.

The body of a newborn is so different from that of an adult that sometimes mothers face an insoluble problem: is this or that condition of her baby the norm or should the alarm be sounded.

In the understanding of adult medicine, the diagnosis of constipation can be made when:

• absence of a chair for more than a day;
• a feeling of incomplete bowel movement after a bowel movement;
• solid feces;
• application of effort (straining) in the process of emptying the intestines.

Inexperienced parents, when applying these criteria to their newborn children, often completely in vain begin to suspect that they have intestinal disorders. It's good if after that mom goes to the pediatrician and asks his advice. It is much worse when the diagnosis is made independently and treatment begins based on the advice of friends, grandmothers and Internet forums.

In order to understand what condition in an infant is actually constipation, it is necessary to consider the normal functioning of the baby's digestive system.

The first days of life. A newborn's first stool is called meconium. It is the remnants of intestinal cells and the digestion products of amniotic fluid that the baby accidentally swallowed. Normally, meconium begins to drain immediately after the first feeding. The color of the first stool is dark, in some cases almost black, odorless, and resembles toothpaste in consistency.

In the first 1-2 days of life, the baby empties the intestines infrequently - 1-3 times a day. After the meconium has completely passed, the stool character begins to change depending on the type of food that the newborn receives.

When breastfeeding, the stool is thin, reminiscent of mustard or pea soup. Color - yellow, yellow-brown, greenish tint is acceptable. Has a pronounced smell of sour milk. May contain undigested curdled milk lumps and small amounts of foam.

In formula-fed babies, the stool is darker in color, has a fecal odor and a thick consistency.

First 2 months of life. When breastfeeding, the options for the norm are quite wide: from bowel movements after each feeding to 2 times a day.

Stricter requirements are imposed on children who are feeding on milk formulas. The norm is considered a daily bowel movement at least 1 time.

From 2 months to 6 months. With the age of the child, the frequency of stools per day decreases: from 5 times a day in 2-month-old infants to 1-2 times a day in half-year-old children. In some infants, breast milk is so well absorbed that they can empty their bowels once every 2-3 days. It is considered normal if the child is cheerful, eats with appetite, gains weight well, defecation occurs without effort, and the stool is soft and does not have a putrid odor.

Children over 6 months old. After the introduction of complementary foods, bowel movements 1-2 times a day are considered the norm. At the same time, the characteristics of the stool change markedly. When switching to solid food, feces begin to form. They acquire a dark color, an unpleasant fecal odor and a denser texture.

Thus, summing up everything written above, we can draw the following conclusions.

For breastfed babies:

• the number of bowel movements per day in infants before the introduction of complementary foods is strictly individual;
• when assessing the condition of the baby, one should focus not on the number of bowel movements, but on the general condition and monthly weight gain;

For bottle-fed babies:

the chair should be at least 1 time per day.

When can a delayed bowel movement be considered constipation?

A diagnosis of constipation can be suspected in the absence of stool in the newborn, accompanied by the following symptoms:

• anxiety of the child and loss of appetite;
• strong straining while trying to defecate;
• redness of the face, crying, squeezing the legs while feeding;
• discharge of intestinal gases with a putrid odor, unpleasant stool odor;
• poor weight gain.

It does not matter how much time has passed since the last bowel movement.

Causes of constipation in newborns

Constipation in breastfed newborns is associated with:

• Bowel disease

  These include congenital anomalies of the digestive system: megacolon - Hirschsprung's disease, absence or narrowing of the anus, lengthening of the sigmoid loop.

• Diseases of other organs and systems

  Insufficient production of thyroid hormones - hypothyroidism, rickets, lesions of the nervous system - all these diseases negatively affect intestinal motility and cause constipation.

• Immaturity of the nervous system

  Often babies are born with immature nerve endings in the intestinal wall. As a result, it cannot contract properly, pushing the food gruel towards the anus. This is a physiological condition that passes by the 2nd month of life without special treatment.

• Mother's diet

  Everything that a mother eats affects the quality of breast milk. There are foods that have a firming effect in a newborn.

Foods that cause constipation in babies:

• fatty cheeses;
• whole cow's milk;
• fatty meats;
• White bread;
• nuts (peanuts, cashews);
• pastry products;
• strong tea, coffee;
• medicines (no-spa, remedies for heartburn and gastritis treatment, diuretics, iron preparations).

There are also many special foods that can help normalize stool, see the article - What helps with constipation?

Increased gas production

Various processes occurring in the intestines of a newborn can lead to increased gas production during the digestion of food. Gas bubbles, accumulating in the lumen of the intestine, impede the normal movement of intestinal contents.

This can be caused by:

• the mother's use of foods that cause increased gas formation (radishes, cucumbers, hot spices, chocolate, carbonated drinks, cakes, fresh onions and garlic, black bread, cabbage, grapes, legumes, bananas);
• violation of intestinal microflora.

The reasons for the development of constipation in infants on artificial feeding

To the above, you can add the following factors:

• Unsuitable formula

  The most common reason for the development of constipation in formula-fed babies is improperly selected formula. The best for the baby is breast milk, but if breastfeeding is not possible, then an adapted milk formula according to age should be chosen as a replacement.

• Abrupt transfer to another mixture

  It is not recommended to drastically change the infant's diet, transferring it to another milk formula. If the need arises, this should be done gradually over several days.

• Lack of water

  If during breastfeeding, supplementation of newborns is not recommended up to 6 months and is used only in extreme cases (fever, diarrhea, fever), then when feeding with milk formula, additional introduction of clean drinking water is mandatory.

What to do with constipation in a newborn?

If a mother is sure that her baby is constipated, then the first thing she should do is go to the pediatrician. The reasons for the development of difficulty in bowel movement can be serious diseases, which can only be identified by a specialist. The doctor may prescribe a blood test for hormones and vitamin content, recommend doing an ultrasound of the internal organs, X-rays, or donating feces for dysbiosis. Then, depending on the results, prescribe professional treatment.

If during the examination no abnormalities were found, then it is highly likely that constipation is associated either with the immaturity of the baby's nervous system, or with the quality of breast milk or formula.

All methods of relieving constipation can be divided into the following groups:

• massage;
• changing the mother's diet or replacing formula milk;
• medicines (duphalac, espumisan, plantex);
• mechanical methods (gas tube, irritation of the anus, glycerin suppositories).

When treating constipation, it is better to start using these methods in order from first to last, but not vice versa.

Massage for constipation in newborns

Since the nervous apparatus of the intestine and the synthesis of digestive enzymes in the newborn are still underdeveloped, the best way to stimulate motor skills and improve the waste of accumulated gases is massage techniques. They are safe and easy to use.

Reception 1. The baby lies on the back. Stroking movements are made around the navel in a clockwise direction. Make 5-10 circular movements.

Reception 2. The child lies on the back. Alternate flexion-extension of the legs in the knee joints, while the front surface of the thigh is pressed against the tummy. The legs are best held by the ankle joints. Do 5 reps.

Reception 3. The baby lies on the back. Pulling the legs bent at the knee joints to the tummy and alternately straightening them. Do 5 reps.

Reception 4. Laying the baby on the tummy before each feeding for 2-15 minutes, depending on age and physical condition.

Reception 5. Put the baby on his tummy on the bed or on the knees of the parent. Make circular stroking movements with your palm from the area between the shoulder blades smoothly down to the sacrum. Repeat 5 times.

Mother's diet and mixture selection

For babies who are breastfed, you can solve the problem of constipation by changing the mother's diet. It is necessary to exclude foods that have a fixing effect, which are described above, and add foods that give laxative properties to breast milk to the daily menu.

Foods that improve the digestion of a newborn:

• fresh vegetable salads containing dill, parsley, seasoned with vegetable oil, preferably olive oil;
• porridge (buckwheat, oatmeal, pearl barley);
• vegetable broth soups;
• white poultry meat;
• prunes;
• dried apricots;
• boiled beets and pumpkin;
• natural unsweetened yogurt, kefir.

If a bottle-fed child has constipation, then you should think about replacing the formula. You can try fermented milk mixtures from Nan, Nutrilon or Nutrilak.

Mothers feeding their babies from a bottle should remember that the mixtures require additional supplementation with water. It should be given at the rate of 10 ml (2 teaspoons) for 1 month of life per day.

See the article - what you can and cannot eat for constipation

Medications

In cases where massage and diet do not have a sufficient effect on bowel function, medicines come to the rescue. Before using any of them, you should definitely consult your doctor.

These include:

• Duphalac;
• Espumisan (other brand names are Bobotic, Sub-Simplex);
• Plantex.
• Glycelax suppositories (prescribed for lactose deficiency)

If the above methods do not show their effectiveness, then you can try mechanical methods of stimulating bowel movements.

One such remedy is glycerin suppositories. Their effect is based on irritation of the rectal mucosa, which causes increased motility. In addition, melting under the influence of body temperature, they play the role of a lubricant, facilitating the passage of feces.

Enema is an extreme way to combat constipation. Their frequent use can lead to the development of intestinal dysbiosis, a lack of vitamins and minerals. For infants, the smallest syringe no. 1 with a soft tip is used. The most commonly used enema solution is boiled water at a temperature of about 30 ° C or a mixture of water and a few drops of oil.

Soap for constipation in newborns is an unacceptable method

Very often, mothers follow the lead of their grandmothers or neighbors, trying to use a piece of laundry soap to combat constipation in their baby. This is an unacceptable method of bowel stimulation! The substances in the soap cause severe irritation of the rectal mucosa, which can lead to ulceration, bleeding and chronic inflammation.

The author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna | Pediatrician

Education: Diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received at the Volgograd State Medical University. A specialist certificate was immediately received in 2014.