What should I do if my baby is constipated? Ways to relieve your baby's constipation

Babies are also prone to constipation, if you don't pay attention to your baby's diet and care, it is easy for your baby to suffer from constipation. The baby suffers from constipation and its digestive function, the baby's digestive system is not perfect, if parents always let it eat some indigestible food, it will also cause constipation. So, what to do if your baby is constipated? How to relieve baby constipation?

1. A word for new mothers

Constipation is a decrease in the frequency of bowel movements or the passage of dry, hard stools, combined with symptoms of constipation, slowed bowel movements, and abdominal discomfort.The normal rotation of defecation comes from the distension of the rectum, which causes the internal sphincter to relax, and the feces enter the anal canal to produce the urge to defecate, and then the external sphincter relaxes and excretes the feces under the control of the will. When the colon increases water reabsorption, resulting in dry and hard stools, sensory and motor nerve disorders and abnormal bowel movements, it may lead to constipation.

2. Common symptoms of constipation

Bloating, abdominal pain (usually constipated abdominal pain is a burst of pain around the navel), loss of appetite, slow weight gain, emotional anxiety, memory loss, distraction, sluggish thinking, and even affect growth and development.

Sometimes constipation for a long time, the feces have turned into fecal stones in the rectum, causing fecal water to seep down from the side of the fecal stones, which is often mistaken for diarrhea and given antidiarrheal drugs, which aggravates the problem of constipation. In addition, constipation can also lead to anal fissures, which are caused by lacerations of the anal opening after defecation due to hard stool, which causes painful bowel movements, and children are more afraid of defecation and cause a vicious circle.

3. 4 causes of constipation

1. Functional Issues:

Most of the secrets are functional, and the parents' eating habits will affect the children, and the parents are prone to constipation, and the children will also have a tendency to constipation.

2. Organic problems:

Although most constipation is functional, a small number are organic constipation, and the common causes are Hirschsprung's disease, hypothyroidism, intestinal obstruction, chronic lead poisoning, spina bifida, and long-term bed rest.

3. Improper diet:

Reduce the intake of high-protein, high-fat and delicate foods, such as meat, cream, fried foods, instant foods, ice creams, chocolates, eggs, cheese, etc., as these foods emptied slowly in the stomach and cannot promote gastrointestinal motility and worsen constipation.

4. Psychological factors:

Parents put too much emphasis on children's defecation habits, or parents do not guide them properly, which will cause children to resist. Sudden mental stimulation, lack of exercise and depressed mood in children can inhibit gastrointestinal motility, leading to lack of intestinal wall muscles and constipation.

4. 6 guidelines for care

1. Increase water intake:

The principle of water intake is at least 100-150cc per kilogram, so taking a 10kg child as an example, about 1000cc to 1500cc a day, and weighing more than 10kg, at least 2000cc per day is enough.

2. Dietary intake:

a. When babies under one year of age have constipation, they can increase their water intake and give fresh fruit juice, vegetable puree or fruit puree rich in fiber.

b. Children over one year old should not eat milk as the staple food, and should reduce the intake of protein foods and increase the intake of fiber-rich foods, such as whole grains, legumes, soy products, vegetables and fruits, etc.

c. Pay attention to the use of snacks or candies to attract children, because these foods are usually high in oil, sugar or salt but low in fiber, which is easy to cause constipation and uneven nutrition.

Principles for the selection of food groups

Meat in moderation

Eggs are acceptable

Beans and their bean products are unprocessed beans, such as: soybeans, mung beans, red beans, etc

Vegetables: A variety of vegetables with a lot of fiber, such as: fresh shiitake mushrooms, water spinach, cabbage, white bamboo shoots, etc

Fruits are high-fiber fruits, such as pears, willow dices, apples, guava, bananas, and melons

Whole grains and their products, such as brown rice, corn, whole wheat toast, oats, millet, etc

3. Abdominal Massage:

It is recommended to consider gently massaging along the child's navel in the middle of the second meal, 3-5 times a day, 3-5 minutes each time, so that the intestinal peristalsis is smoother, and the food residue is easy to be sent to the rectum, resulting in a sense of defecation.

4. Anal stimulation (for babies under one year old):

a. Indirect stimulation: The time is selected shortly after drinking milk (within 30 minutes to an hour), the baby will have a defecation reflex, parents can consider stimulating the skin around the baby's inner thighs or anal opening, and making a scratching action is also a stimulation method.

B. Direct stimulation: If the baby has not defecated for more than 48 hours, you can consider dipping a cotton swab or anal thermometer with some petroleum jelly or baby oil deep into the baby's anus for about 2-3 cm, and rotate 2-3 times, so that the baby can be stimulated to defecate, the effect is not good, you can do it every 12 hours.

5. Good Habits:

Some children are greedy for fun, or do not have the desire to defecate when they have the stool, which will make the stool hard, resulting in anal fissure after defecation, at this time, the child will hold back because of the fear of pain, making the stool drier and harder, so vicious circle, constipation is more serious.

For older toddlers, parents can encourage their children to use the toilet regularly, give them plenty of time to defecate, and use the morning or after meals to urge their children to go to the toilet, but not if they do not have bowel movements. When children defecate, the surrounding environment should be simple, and the interference of toys and TVs should be reduced, so that children can concentrate on defecation.Proper exercise can strengthen gastrointestinal activity, increase appetite, improve bowel motivation, and regular life and rest, relaxation can also improve constipation.

6. Medication use:

After the above situation is treated, if the child is still constipated, the parents can directly take the child to the doctor and hand it over to a professional doctor. The use of drugs should be mainly oral as much as possible, and avoid frequent enemas that cause fear in children. When the pain of defecation is reduced, children will be less afraid of bowel movements, which will help to re-establish bowel habits, but remember to follow the doctor's instructions, not self-medication, and not long-term use, otherwise when the response of the nerve receptor cells in the intestinal wall is reduced, even if there is enough stool in the intestine, it will not be able to produce normal peristalsis and defecation reflex.

5. Prevent urinary tract infections in babies

(1) Wash your vulva every day and change your underwear frequently. Do not wash the vulva with foot-washing water.

(2) The baby should wash the anus after defecating every day; Diapers should be scalded with boiling water after washing, and it is best to boil and disinfect if possible. Baby towels and washbasins should be separated from adults.

(3) Thorough treatment of pinworms.

(4) Don't let your baby hold urine. Because urine is in the bladder for too long, on the one hand, it is easy for bacteria to multiply; On the other hand, long-term bladder filling will reduce the contraction ability of the bladder muscles, and make it difficult for urine to empty, both of which are causes of urinary tract infections.

(5) Shorten the time for the baby to wear open pants as much as possible.

(6) If the baby is found to have congenital malformations of the urinary system, it should be treated with surgery in time.

(7) Enhance the baby's resistance and reduce the chance of infection.