Constipation is a condition in which a person has difficulty defecating. This condition can also occur in babies. There are some signs a baby is constipated.
As a parent, you have to be aware of the symptoms every time and everywhere so that can give help.
What is Constipation?
Before moving on to discussing what the signs of constipation are, it would be nice to understand this situation more deeply.
Constipation itself is a condition in which a person has difficulty defecating. Usually have a sign of fewer than 3 times a week in bowel movements.
Defecation is a stage in digestion at the very end. Every healthy person should have regular bowel movements.
However, due to certain circumstances, there can be disturbances, namely constipation. This condition can occur in adults and even babies
Babies who have not been able to express pain make parents have to pay attention to constipation.
There are several signs a newborn baby is constipated. You must always monitor the process of having bowel movement whether it is smooth and also the signs of what kind of stool.
Signs of Constipation in Baby
Babies are always synonymous with being cheerful, active, playing and laughing.
However, if suddenly their condition felt unusually strange, parents would be worried. This could be a sign your baby is constipated. For more details, identify the following characteristics.
1. Frequency and Consistency of Defecation
Babies have a regular bowel schedule. Therefore, if the brand has not had a bowel movement for several days and then the stool is hard, this is a sign that a baby is constipated.
That way, as parents, you should always check on this condition. Constipation is not only about the frequency of bowel movements, but also how the consistency is.
When the baby feels very, very hard pain, then you must immediately provide the right help. You should always make sure they have regular bowel movements and that their stools are not hard.
2. Babies Often Push When Defecating
The next sign is a baby struggling to poop. They usually will push very hard when going to defecate.
This difficulty occurs as a result of the type of stool that is very hard. They will be in trouble so it is not uncommon for him to cry.
Hard stool, of course, makes the baby very uncomfortable. The signs my baby is constipated will cause a feeling of wanting to defecate was blocked by excruciating pain.
They will express their feelings by crying and fussy when going to poop. This can be a sign that it is fairly easy to spot.
3. Refusing When Given Food
In the baby phase, of course, they have good eating power for growth. However, when they feel constipated they will experience a decreased appetite.
They tend to feel full so they do not want to eat despite the fact that they haven’t included any food at all.
In this infant constipation symptoms will make the baby feel uncomfortable. Recognizing these traits, you can recognize the state of the child who is very uncomfortable.
Even though their age loves to eat. When they feel constipated, they always refuse when given food.
4. Stomach in Infants Experiencing Cramps and Tightness
Feeling constipated certainly gives a sense of discomfort. In the next feature, signs of constipation in newborn babies, you can recognize by looking at the state of the stomach.
Usually, when you have difficulty defecating, your baby’s stomach will feel very tight than usual.
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Babies who have a tight or stiff stomach are one of the signs that your baby is constipated.
This state of constipation will be accompanied by fuss and always crying. This comes from the pressure in his stomach causing pain.
5. Blood in Stool
As a parent, you can notice the baby constipation blood in the stool. This condition shows that the infant may struggle very hard to poop.
That is the way; blood will come as the result. You also can see the child feel uncomfortable and also crying.
Signs of constipation in infants will push as hard as they can. This is because the stool is very hard.
This then causes a small tear in the anal area. Thus, blood appears in the stool. This situation of course raises pity and worry.
Recognize Symptoms of Constipation in Children
Children, who tend to have feelings of happiness and high interest, have signs of constipation that are quite easy to spot.
How to know if your baby is constipated by finding out a number of symptoms of this constipation condition. Look at the following list.
1. Fever
You can recognize the condition that is baby constipation fever. Children will experience fever. A body that has an attack from viruses, bacteria or parasites will certainly activate its immunity. This pain is a form of resistance.
When infected then it will make baby constipation and fever. Thus, the first treatment could be providing antibiotics or antivirus.
Through proper handling of the help of a doctor or medical team, these symptoms can be resolved immediately.
2. Baby’s Weight Decreased
Baby constipation symptoms that you can recognize is that they will lose weight. When you feel pain in the digestive organs, the baby will lose their appetite. This way, you can significantly lose weight from before.
Talking about signs infant is constipated will make parents consider all the things. Babies who have difficulty defecating will have a thinner weight.
You can immediately check with the doctor so that you know the cause and cure quickly.
3. A lump appears in the anus
The result of the baby having hard stool will make a lump in the anus. This becomes a form of inflammation and results in swelling due to difficulty defecating.
If this situation lasts for a long time it can lead to severity.
Constipation usually occurs when children do not have a good intake to help their digestive system.
Newborn constipation signs that you can take as a concern will bring to this symptom. Thus, become more concerned with their nutritional intake.
4. There is an open wound on the Anus
The next signs a baby is constipated is that appears when a child is constipated is the appearance of sores in the anus.
This is a sign my baby is struggling to poop. Because the stool is very hard, it can cause injury.
You can see the sores in the anus and usually leave a small amount of blood on them.
This incident will make the baby even fussier; often move his body due to feeling uncomfortable, crying, and other responses.
5. Vomit
For the next symptoms of constipation in toddlers is that they will vomit. This reaction is a response to the presence of viruses or bacteria in digestion.
This will encourage discomfort in the stomach so that the children feel nauseous.
A constipated stomach will give you discomfort. Children will find it difficult to get food into their mouths.
Some signs your newborn is constipated, one of them that they may refuse anything to eat. You really have to pay attention to this condition so that you can immediately handle it.
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The Causes of Constipation in Baby
Constipation in babies and children is the most worrying moment for every parent. Especially if this is his first experience.
After knowing a number of signs your baby is constipated, you can immediately understand what causes this constipation.
1. Dehydration
How do you know if your baby is constipated? This question can be answered by knowing the first cause of constipation that is a lack of fluids.
This dehydration condition can cause the child to have difficulty defecating. This will result in a stool consistency that tends to be dry and hard.
Children with constipation will need strong energy to be able to get rid of the stool. This can be helped by adequate body fluids. If not, then this situation can make the baby even more difficult and in pain.
2. Improper Formula Milk Feeding
In newborn babies, milk is their main food for growth. However, what happens if the food is not suitable?
There will be rejection naturally in the body, namely in the form of difficulty defecating.
Formula milk has a difference from breast milk. If giving it is not right for your baby, then you can see them showing a number of signs of constipation.
The formula that is not suitable can be difficult to digest and interfere with the digestive process.
3. When You Start with Solid Foods
The next cause is that the baby has just been introduced to food other than breast milk.
When trying for the first time, they will try to adapt because the texture is different. This makes the digestive system shock and constipation occurs.
The solid foods they consume for the first time have different nutrient absorption. This situation can make constipation or difficulty defecating.
However, this condition is normal and can be treated appropriately with the help of a doctor or paramedic.
How to Overcome Constipation in Baby
The problem of constipation in children that you can recognize with a number of newborn constipation symptoms certainly has a solution.
There are a number of ways that can relieve this feeling of difficulty defecating. For more details, see the explanation below.
1. Give stool softeners
One sign of constipation is hard stools. You can solve this problem by giving stool softeners.
This method is classified as safe and can be done independently under the supervision of a pediatrician. So that the dose is right and able to relieve pain.
The way a stool softener works is to make the stool easier to pass. With a dose according to the child’s age, it can provide stimulation to defecate smoothly without the need to push as hard as you can.
2. Lots of consumption of fiber and drinking water
One of the causes of constipation is lack of fluids and fiber.
Therefore, you can provide an intake of fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, and other high-fiber snacks. For toddlers, you should start teaching drinking water regularly.
By adjusting a healthy diet, of course you can avoid this constipation disorder. That way, children are healthier, and more cheerful.
The problem of having bowel movements is more regular and has no difficulty due to hard stools.
3. Do not Postpone Defecation
Have you delayed bowel movements? The result can be very bad, such as hard feces, causing constipation. This also applies to children.
Constipation signs in toddlers make them push too hard when going to defecate.
As parents, you should always teach not to hold poop. Take them to the toilet regularly so that they are accustomed to defecating on time. Thus, constipation will not come to bother you.
4. Inviting Children to Move Much Active
The next solution to dealing with constipation in children is to get them active.
By continuing to make the body move, it can have an impact on the digestive process. The intestine makes it easier to pass stool.
Compared with children who do not like to move, they tend to have problems with difficulty defecating.
This is because the body does not have assistance in digestion. Therefore, invite the children to play actively.
That is information about the sign a baby is constipated and a number of ways to deal with it. I hope that this is useful for you and can solve this problem well.