Constipation in a newborn can be very upsetting for the parents and the baby. And basically what constipation is is when the baby goes several days without a bowel movement, or has a bowel movement and is really straining to release.
There are certain things you can do during that time to help the baby. You can massage their stomach to really help get things moving and release some of the gas. You can put them in a warm bath. You can put a warm compress on their stomach if you see that they’re having cramps and they’re really uncomfortable.
You can speak to your doctor about giving a little bit of prune juice or pear juice into the baby’s diet. And then if the baby is really not relieving the constipation, there are a whole host of baby products with your doctor’s advice that you can use, such as baby suppositories that will help relieve the constipation.
If you notice that the constipation is really becoming a habit, you may want to introduce something like prune juice and pear juice as a regular part of their diet every day. Sometimes powdered formulas can really cause infant constipation if they’re not mixed thoroughly. This is because the powder really bunches together without enough liquid, and then clumps in the baby’s intestines.
So during any bouts of constipation, you want to make sure that if you’re using powdered formula, you really stir it very, very well, that there’s enough liquid, and you’re measuring it out appropriately with the volume of water to powder, and try to use pain relievers and other over the counter remedies to help relieve the situation.
If you notice it’s going on for more than a couple of days, or a week at most, you really should consult your doctor, because it can be a very painful situation for a newborn. With a doctor’s help, constipation should be easily relieved, but you really have to keep an eye on it, and really get ahead of it if it becomes a chronic problem, or deal with it as soon as you notice that your child is in pain or hasn’t gone to the bathroom on their regular schedule.
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