What is the reason for a newborn baby not to have a bowel movement for 24 hours?

We all know that the baby will have the first bowel movement within 24 hours after birth, excreting meconium. However, many parents often encounter the symptom that the baby has not defecated for 24 hours. This will make many parents of newborns particularly worried. They don’t know what is causing the problem, whether the baby has some gastrointestinal disease, how to care for the baby, and whether treatment is needed. Let’s understand what happens when a newborn baby has not defecated for 24 hours.

What is the reason for a newborn baby not to have a bowel movement for 24 hours?

The reasons parents often think of for constipation in infants and young children are "drinking milk powder causes getting sore throat" and "poor gastrointestinal function", etc., so they change their children's milk powder, adjust their diet, and busy themselves with all the work. In fact, if you want a confirmed diagnosis, why not see a doctor? Deng Xiaogeng introduced that there are many reasons for constipation in infants and young children, such as gastrointestinal dysfunction, long colon, etc. Hirschsprung's disease can also cause constipation, and has its own pattern of onset, which parents can distinguish.

Experts have found that most young patients experience delayed meconium excretion, meaning they defecate more than 24 hours after birth. This can be used as a sign of the disease, but it is not absolute. Some patients do not have this phenomenon. This is because the diseased intestine is in a spasmodic and narrow state, and meconium cannot pass through. Therefore, no feces or only a small amount of feces can be discharged within 24 to 48 hours. It is necessary to use soap bars, enema and other methods to discharge more feces.

As the disease progresses, in addition to constipation, the newborn will have vomiting problems within 2 to 6 days after birth. The child's vomit contains bile or fecal-like liquid, and parents can see that the child's belly is swollen, even to the point where the belly is shiny. Just like the little patient Hanghang mentioned above, after using some auxiliary methods to defecate, the feces were discharged and the child's symptoms were relieved, but constipation, abdominal distension and vomiting reappeared after a few days.

A large mass of feces was felt in the abdomen

In addition, experts teach parents a little trick: If parents suspect their child has Hirschsprung's disease, they can touch the child's lower left abdomen. If they can feel a huge mass of feces, it means there is a problem. When the doctor uses his fingers to perform an anal examination, he will also find that the child's anus is particularly tight. Although there is no fecal mass in the rectum, a large amount of gas and feces will be sprayed out when the fingers are pulled out.

The above is an introduction to what happens when a newborn baby has not defecated for 24 hours. After understanding it, we know that such a phenomenon is generally caused by the baby's congenital gastrointestinal malformations and other problems. Therefore, parents should pay great attention to it and observe the baby's physical condition in time. If such symptoms occur, you must not blindly use medication for the baby and must consult a doctor in time.

The above is an introduction to what happens when a newborn baby has not defecated for 24 hours. After understanding this, you should not blindly deal with such symptoms by yourself. You must consult a doctor in time. In addition, if the baby is breastfed, the mother should also take medicine and make special adjustments to the diet, eat a light diet and balanced nutrition. In addition, you must consult a doctor in time when you encounter symptoms, so that the problem can be cured better and faster.