Constipation is common and is characterized by a decrease in the number of bowel movements or difficulty in stool passage.
The most common cause of constipation in babies and adults are changes in diet or routine and inadequate fiber intake.
You must call your medical consultant if you notice any pain or blood in your stools and if you notice your baby’s constipation last for more than three weeks.
In this article, our main topic of discussion is the main symptoms of constipation.
What Is Meant By Constipation?
The simplest definition of constipation is the decrease in baby poops from less than 3 times a week.
No doubt it can change from person to person and baby to baby, but its average frequency is less than 3 times a week.
Some babies may poop up to 2 to 3 times a day, while others may not possess such pooping frequency.
It does not matter what is your baby’s pooping frequency Baby’s Bowel Movements, but the hardness and pattern of poop contribute to the baby’s constipation.
The most common thing about constipation in babies and adults is that you will notice difficulty in the passage of stool.
Some characteristics of baby poop are given below:
- Your baby’s stool will be hard and dry.
- You will notice painful bowel movements and difficulty in stool passage.
- Your baby will feel that he has not fully emptied his bowels.
What Are The Symptoms Of Constipation In Babies?
There are several symptoms associated with your baby, some of which are described below:
Decrease in bowel movement:
There is a significant decrease in the baby’s bowel movements Pooping is less than two bowel movements in a week.
The texture of stool:
Your baby’s seat will become lumpy, challenging, and dry.
Painful stool:
You will notice pain and difficulty in stool passage.
Not empty stool:
Your baby will tell you that he or she feels stool has passed appropriately.
Position change during stool pass:
Your baby will change his position during stool passage to avoid pain and delay stool. These are changing positions in babies:
- Your baby will first stand on tiptoes and then rock back his heels.
- Your baby will clench his buttocks.
- Your baby will perform irregular dancing movements.
Swollen belly
The swollen belly of the bloating stomach is most common in constipated babies.
Wetting
There is wetting in the daytime or nighttime in constipated babies.
Diarrhea-like symptoms:
You will notice stool in the diaper of constipated children which looks like diarrhea.
A fecal impaction may also develop in babies if you notice your baby is trying to avoid passing stool and if there is a delay in babies bowel movement. There are also some conditions in which newborns not pooping but passing gas.
What Are The Conditions When You Need To Consult Your Medical Specialist?
At first, you should try to overcome the constipation problem with the help of simple home remedies, but if symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, you must consult your medical worker.
You should take early consultations if you notice these symptoms in your baby:
Bleeding:
If you notice any bleeding from your baby’s rectum, you must consult.
Blood:
Blood in stool is also a sign of an adverse condition, and you need to consult your doctor.
Bloating:
Bloating and swollen abdomen are signs of severe constipation.
Abdominal pain:
You must consult your medical worker if there is continuous pain in your baby’s abdomen.
Vomiting:
You must consult your doctor if there is vomiting with decreased bowel movement.
Weight loss:
Weight changes may occur in constipation cases; in this case, you must consult your physician.
What Are The Risk Factors For Constipation?
Constipation is much in those babies who possess these typical characteristics:
- Babies who are sedentary.
- Babies who do not have enough fibers to eat.
- Babis with poor fluid water intake.
- Babies with several medicines, mainly antidepressants.
- Babies who suffer from the medical condition of the anus and rectum.
- Babies with mental or neurological disorders.
What Are Complications Related To Constipation?
No doubt, constipation is an uneasy condition for babies, and it is not life-threatening in most cases. But it can cause many problems for babies if it becomes severe.
Anal fissures:
An anal fissure is characterized by sudden breaks in the skin around the anus.
Rectal prolapse:
The condition occurs when your baby’s rectum comes out of the anus.
Stool holding:
There is stool holding also occurs in constipation.
Encopresis:
This term is used for children in which avoiding bowel movements Remedies the reason for pain and causes stool to collect in the rectum and colon and leak out.
What Do You Know About The Causes Of Constipation?
As you know, constipation is a condition in which a decrease in stool passage rate from the digestive tract causing your babies to become stiff and dry.
Several factors contribute to constipation which mainly include:
Withholding:
The withholding ability of an individual refers to ignorance in the urge to pass stool because he or she does not want to take a break from his play.
Most boys feel uncomfortable using public toilets because they are away from home and start to withhold their stools.
Painful stool may also be because of withholding. When your baby’s seat becomes hard and dry, your baby will feel pain and try to avoid stool passes because of the pain and distressing experience.
Toilet Training Issues:
Toilet training issues are also considered the primary cause of constipation, and if you notice that your baby’s toilet training has started at an early stage, he will try to avoid stool passage.
If toilet training becomes difficult for your baby, he will naturally avoid passing stool. It will become the habit of babies and as a result, chances of constipation will increase.
Diet Changes:
Diet is mainly responsible for the baby’s normal poop condition. If your baby’s diet has no fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, your baby may suffer from constipation.
Another reason for constipation in babies is the absence of liquid food in your baby’s diet.
The most common stage for babies to become constipated occurs when the diet is switched from liquid to solid foods.
Changes In The Daily Routine Of The Baby:
The changes in the daily routine of babies, like hot weather stress and increased travel time, can cause disturbance in bowel movement.
In most cases, your babies become constipated when he or they start to go to school.
Introduction Of Medicines To Your Baby’s Stomach:
Some medicines affect your baby’s poop frequency, including antidepressants and other drugs.
Allergy From Cow’s Milk Or Goat Milk:
Another reason babies become constipated is an allergy to cow or goat milk and increased use of dairy products like cheese.
Family History.
Family history is also responsible for constipation, and if most of your family members suffer, there are many chances you will suffer from constipation.
It is just because of genetic or environmental factors.
Medical Conditions Of Babies
Some medical conditions like digestive system problems or anatomic malformation may cause your baby to become constipated.
Some underlying conditions are responsible for constipation.
What Are The Methods To Prevent Constipation?
There are some instructions that you can follow to prevent constipation:
Introduce Your Baby’s Stomach With High-Rich Fibers:
Your baby’s diet affects your pooping frequency and helps create normal poop. A diet that is rich in fiber is responsible for the production of soft and bulky poop.
You must enrich your baby’s diet with vibrant fibers mainly present in fruits, beans, vegetables, bread, and whole-grain cereals.
If your little one cannot intake these fiber-rich foods, you can add some grams of fiber in a day to prevent bloating and gas.
The average dose for a baby to intake dietary fiber is 14 grams for every 1000 calories in your baby’s diet.
In general terms, the usual dose of fiber for younger children is about 20 grams daily.
When your child reaches adolescence, you should give an increased fiber dose of up to 29 grams for girls and 38 grams for boys and young men in a day.
Increase In Fluid Intake Of Baby:
In general terms, water is best for relieving constipation so you should motivate your little one to take fluid in large quantities.
Increase In Baby’s Physical Activities:
Regular exercise and physical activity are responsible for smooth bowel movements, so you should engage your little one in physical activities to avoid constipation.
Toilet Routine Setting:
You should set a specific time for your baby to use the toilet after a meal.
You can also provide your baby with a footstool to increase in ease of your baby and make your baby sit comfortably on the toilet. It will also help in smooth stool pass.
Train Your Child To Pick Toilet Reminder:
Most babies become busy with their playing habits and do not know whether they have received their stimulus of bowel movement or not.
In this case, your baby’s bowel movement becomes disturbed and may lead to constipation.
Don’t Discourage Your Child:
You should support your child and your baby’s efforts, not results. You can also encourage your baby to pass bowel by giving some rewards.
These rewards include stickers and magic books for babies, which must be available during toilet time only.
You should not punish your baby if he or she fails to pass stool properly.
Check Medications:
You must know about medications that are responsible for constipation. You should ask your doctor to try some safest options for your baby to relieve constipation.
Conclusion – What are the symptoms of constipation
What are the symptoms of constipation? The main symptoms of constipation include hard and dry poop, bloating, swollen belly, and pain during stool passage.
The main factors responsible for constipation include diet changes, physical changes, withholding problems, and medications.
You can prevent constipation by checking medicine, increasing a fiber-rich diet, and doing toilet training.
