What to do if your baby becomes constipated after adding complementary food

Children's diet requires great care, especially when it comes to matching complementary foods. If a child has a loss of appetite after changing complementary foods, we should find out the reason. The change of complementary foods will affect the child's appetite to some extent. Long-term constipation will form a vicious circle. Over time, the child's physical development will also be affected to a certain extent. We should ensure that complementary foods are green and healthy.

The baby is constipated after adding complementary food, mainly due to several reasons:

1. The complementary food is too fine, the fiber intake is insufficient, and the intestinal wall is not stimulated enough;

2. When the amount of food is insufficient, there is less residue in the intestines, the abdominal muscles and intestinal muscles have insufficient tension and weak peristalsis;

3. Excessive intake of high protein will reduce the intestinal fermentation bacteria and affect fermentation, which will make the stool dry and dense. How do you know if your baby is constipated after adding complementary foods? Generally, there are several signs of baby constipation: abdominal distension and pain; difficulty in defecation and pain during defecation; small and dry stools; and loss of appetite. Of course, each baby has different physical conditions, so we need to analyze the specific situation. In addition to observing whether the baby is constipated, we also need to make an overall observation of the quality and quantity of the baby's stool.

For example, a baby who is exclusively breastfed may have more bowel movements per day, whereas a baby who is fed with milk or other milk substitutes may have a bowel movement once a day or once every 2 to 3 days. Therefore, as long as the nature and amount are normal and the baby has no other discomfort, it is not constipation.

After constipation occurs, the stool is dry and hard, which stimulates the anus and causes pain and discomfort, making the baby afraid to defecate forcefully. The stool can never be excreted, forming a vicious circle. If the stool remains in the body for a long time, toxins will accumulate in the body, affecting normal metabolism, causing the baby to be malnourished and have a decreased resistance, which is very harmful.

When choosing to change complementary foods, we can give the child a small amount for a short period of time to adapt. If the child likes and can adapt to this type of complementary food, we will gradually increase the amount of complementary food. It is very important to allow children to have an adaptation process. If symptoms of constipation occur, we can stop using complementary foods. We also need to observe whether the child has other symptoms.