What should I do if my baby is severely constipated? Combining multiple methods to solve the problem!

As we all know, constipation is very uncomfortable and will seriously affect a person's mental state. If your baby is constipated, you must first find the cause. It may be caused by improper diet, problems with the baby's gastrointestinal function, or a malformation of the baby's digestive tract. Therefore, it is important to find the cause and treat it symptomatically. Parents can try the following methods.

1. What to do if your baby is constipated

1. Massage

Use the four fingers of your right hand to gently massage the child's navel in a clockwise direction. This will help digestion and facilitate defecation.

2. Soap bar stimulation method

Use a soap bar to stimulate the rectum. First, cut the soap into pencil-thick strips, about 3 cm, wet them with clean water, and insert them into the child's anus. The rectum will be stimulated and defecation will occur.

3. Radish strips stimulation method

Prepare a small bowl of water, sprinkle in an appropriate amount of salt, put radish strips cut into pencil-thick strips into the water, and insert the soaked radish strips into the child's anus to help defecation.

4. Use enema

Parents can also choose to use enema, squeeze the liquid into the child's anus, which can stimulate the inner wall of the large intestine and promote defecation, but be sure to ask the doctor for advice beforehand.

2. What to eat for baby constipation

1. Prepare less food

If a child has a small stomach space, eats too much, the food particles are large, or the food surface is too rough, it can easily cause gastrointestinal obstruction and lead to indigestion. Therefore, the amount of each meal for children should be controlled at about 1/3 or 1/4 of the amount of adults. This way it is less likely for children to have leftovers. It is also a sense of accomplishment for children, and they will develop a good habit of not leaving leftovers.

2. Eat small, frequent meals

Children are energetic, exercise a lot, and consume a lot of energy, so they need to replenish energy every three or four hours. Taking into account the small stomach capacity of children, parents may wish to divide the food they eat every day into 3 main meals and 2 side meals. Side dishes can include foods high in protein and lipid content, such as almonds, honey, etc. These foods can not only provide energy, but also lubricate the intestines and help children defecate. Parents can add ground almonds to a little oatmeal and other dried fruits, mix it with water and feed it to their children; honey (suitable for children over 1 year old) can be eaten with fruit or bread.

3. Supplement fiber

Foods such as fungus, seaweed, and dried fruits contain a lot of fiber. If your child does not like to eat fruits and vegetables, you can use these instead to supplement fiber and facilitate bowel movements.

4. Eat more fruits

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dryness and heat in the body can cause constipation, and eating melons such as Hami melon and watermelon can help remove internal heat. If your child doesn’t like it, you can mix it with condensed milk, yogurt or ice cream and fruits. The rich milk flavor will reduce his or her aversion. In addition, mung bean and barley porridge also has a cooling effect.

3. How to prevent baby constipation

1. Develop good bowel habits

Babies aged 3-4 months are easy to train to defecate and can be trained appropriately. For children aged 3-7, they are still in the growth and development period, their abdominal and pelvic muscles are not fully developed, and their reflex defecation function is not yet mature. When they feel the urge to defecate, they often do not go to the toilet immediately, but only go after being reminded by their parents. Therefore, parents should set a fixed time for their children to defecate, usually 1 hour after breakfast. Parents can accompany their children to the toilet, and the time is generally controlled within 10 minutes. Long-term persistence can help children develop good bowel habits. In addition, drinking a glass of honey water or juice before going to the toilet can help with bowel movements. (Note: Babies under 1 year old should not drink honey water to avoid poisoning.)

2. Pay attention to oral hygiene

If a child has problems with his teeth, he will lose his appetite, become picky about food, and then have symptoms of difficulty in defecation. Oral hygiene is often easily neglected. Parents must supervise their children to brush their teeth after meals and take their children for dental check-ups regularly (once every three months).

3. Breastfeeding

Too much casein in formula can make the stool hard and dry, which can easily lead to constipation in babies. The oligosaccharides and sufficient nutrition in breast milk will not cause the baby to get inflamed, so breastfeeding is a better choice.

4. Eat a balanced diet

When babies drink milk powder, mothers can choose to increase the sugar content and dilute the milk powder at the same time. It is recommended to add 10g of sugar to 100ml of milk. Mashing fruits or squeezing fruits and vegetables into juice and feeding them to children can replenish the missing fiber in their bodies and help intestinal peristalsis. Vegetable porridge is suitable for children aged 6 months and above. Vegetables are rich in fiber, which can speed up intestinal digestion and help defecation. At the same time, you should also consume whole grains and a variety of fruits and vegetables to balance your nutrition.