What causes difficulty defecating in newborns?

The metabolism of a newborn can indicate some of his or her physical development conditions and whether his or her gastrointestinal tract is normal. Newborns have just been born and have not yet adapted to the external environment, which usually causes gastrointestinal diseases. Difficulty in defecation in newborns is one of them. Let us now understand the reasons why newborns have difficulty in defecation.

Constipation is a very common symptom in infancy and childhood. When babies are constipated, they often cry incessantly due to difficulty in defecation. Over time, this can cause abdominal distension, loss of appetite, and restless sleep. Constipation in infants and young children is mostly caused by improper diet and bad habits, but it can also be caused by defects in the systemic or gastrointestinal anatomical structure. Therefore, correctly understanding and distinguishing the different causes of constipation will help provide good home care. Constipation refers to slow intestinal movement and excessive water absorption, resulting in dry and hard stools, reduced frequency and difficulty in excretion. It is generally believed that bowel movements lasting more than 48 hours can be considered constipation, but some children are accustomed to having bowel movements once every 2-3 days, and the amount and quality of stool are normal, which should be considered physiological. Some children have difficulty defecating. Although they defecate several times a day, the amount of stool each time is very small. There is still a large amount of feces retained in the colon or rectum. This should still be considered as constipation.

Constipation in children is often caused by the following factors.

1. Dietary factors are often improper food ingredients. For example, when feeding artificially, milk contains more casein and calcium, which can easily cause constipation. The food contains a lot of protein but lacks carbohydrates, the intestinal flora changes, the intestinal contents are less fermented, the stool is alkaline, and easily dries up, leading to constipation. In addition, children who are picky eaters, prefer to eat meat and not vegetables, whose food is fine and has little residue, and whose food contains too little fiber, are also prone to constipation. In addition, if babies eat too little, the liquid is absorbed after digestion, leaving little residue, resulting in less and thicker stools, which can also cause constipation.

2. Bad bowel habits: Irregular life, lack of normal bowel habits, failure to form a conditioned reflex of defecation, frequent delays in defecation, resulting in no bowel movements for several days and constipation.

3. Habitual constipation This is a psychological and functional constipation. Children often suppress their bowel movements due to playfulness or excessive tension during bowel movements, which affects the establishment of normal defecation reflexes. It is common in 2-3 months old children. The main clinical manifestations are abdominal distension and constipation, and a lump filled with feces can often be felt on the left side of the abdomen. 4. Local organic lesions are common in patients with anal fissures, cryptitis, acute perianal inflammation or abscesses, etc., which cause resistance to defecation and lead to constipation due to local pain during defecation.

The above are the reasons why newborns have difficulty defecating, so parents must pay attention and not develop some bad living habits in daily life. Only by finding these reasons can we find better solutions. The bodies of newborns are in the process of development, so we must pay close attention to their physical condition.