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Constipation in infants is a painful condition that is characterized by slow and difficult bowel movements.
The body of a newborn is so different from the body of an adult that sometimes mothers face an insoluble problem: is this or that condition of her baby the norm or is it necessary to sound the alarm.
In the understanding of adult medicine, the diagnosis of constipation can be made when:
no stool for more than a day;
feeling of incomplete bowel movement after a bowel movement;
solid feces;
the application of effort (straining) in the process of bowel release.
Inexperienced parents, applying these criteria to their newborn children, often begin to suspect that they have intestinal disorders in vain. It’s good if after that the mother goes to the pediatrician and asks for his advice. It is much worse when the diagnosis is made independently and treatment begins on the basis of the advice of friends, grandmothers and Internet forums.
Types of stool in infants: nuances
In order to figure out what condition a baby actually has constipation, it is necessary to consider the normal functioning of the baby’s digestive system.
First days of life. The first stool of a newborn is called meconium. It is the remains of intestinal cells and the products of digestion of amniotic fluid, which the child accidentally swallowed. Normally, meconium begins to depart immediately after the first feeding. The color of the first stool is dark, in some cases almost black, odorless, similar in consistency to toothpaste.
In the first 1-2 days of life, the baby empties the intestines infrequently – 1-3 times a day. After the complete discharge of meconium, the nature of the stool begins to change depending on the type of nutrition that the newborn receives.
When breastfeeding, the stool is watery, reminiscent of mustard or pea soup. Color – yellow, yellow-brown, a greenish tint is acceptable. It has a pronounced smell of sour milk. May contain undigested lumps of curdled milk and a small amount of foam.
In formula-fed babies, stools are darker in color, have a fecal odor and a thick consistency.
first 2 months of life. With breastfeeding, the norm options are quite wide: from bowel movements after each feeding to 2 times a day.
There are more stringent requirements for formula-fed babies. The norm is the daily emptying of the intestine 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 babies to 1-2 times a day in six-month-old children. In some babies, mother’s milk is so well absorbed that they can empty their intestines once every 1-2 days. This is considered normal if the child is cheerful, eats with appetite, gains weight well, defecates effortlessly, the stool is soft and does not have a putrid odor.
Children over 6 months old. After the introduction of complementary foods, it is considered normal to empty the intestines 1-2 times a day. At the same time, the characteristics of the chair change markedly. With the transition to solid food, fecal masses begin to form. They acquire a dark color, an unpleasant fecal odor and a denser texture.
Thus, summing up all the above written, 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, it is necessary to focus not on the number of bowel movements, but on the general condition and monthly weight gain;
For formula-fed babies:
the chair should be at least 1 time per day.
When is a delayed bowel movement considered constipation?
The diagnosis of “constipation” can be suspected in the absence of stool in a newborn, accompanied by the following signs:
anxiety of the child and loss of appetite;
strong straining during attempts to defecate;
reddening of the face, crying, tightening the legs during feeding;
excretion of intestinal gases with a putrid odor, an unpleasant odor of the stool;
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, moving the food slurry towards the anus. This is a physiological condition that disappears 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 products that cause a fixing 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-shpa, heartburn and gastritis treatment, diuretics, iron preparations).
Increased gas formation
Various processes occurring in the intestines of a newborn can lead to increased gas formation during the digestion of food. Gas bubbles, accumulating in the intestinal lumen, prevent the normal movement of intestinal contents.
This may be caused by:
the mother’s use of foods that cause increased gas formation (radishes, cucumbers, spicy seasonings, chocolate, carbonated drinks, cakes, fresh onions and garlic, black bread, cabbage, grapes, legumes, bananas);
violation of the intestinal microflora.
Causes of constipation in formula-fed babies:
Inappropriate milk formula. The most common cause of constipation in formula-fed babies is improperly selected milk formula. Breast milk is best for the baby, but if breastfeeding is not possible, an age-appropriate formula should be chosen as a substitute.
Abrupt transfer to another mixture. It is not recommended to drastically change the diet of the baby, transferring it to another milk formula. If such a 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 administration of clean drinking water is mandatory.
What to do with constipation in a newborn?
If a mother is sure that her baby has constipation, then the first thing she should do is go to the pediatrician. The causes of the development of difficulty in emptying the intestines 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 an ultrasound of the internal organs, x-rays, or donate feces for dysbacteriosis. Then, depending on the results, prescribe professional treatment.
If during the examination no deviations from the norm 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 helping with constipation can be divided into the following groups:
massage;
changing the mother’s diet or changing formula;
medicines (bobotik, duphalac, espumizan, 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.
An enema is an extreme way to deal with constipation. Their frequent use can lead to the development of intestinal dysbacteriosis, lack of vitamins and minerals. For babies, the smallest syringe No. 1 with a soft tip is used. Boiled water at a temperature of about 30 ° C or a mixture of water and a few drops of oil is most often used as an enema solution.
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