What to do if your two-year-old baby doesn't have a bowel movement for three days

What to do if your two-year-old baby doesn't have a bowel movement for three days

Parents will be very anxious if their two-year-old baby does not have a bowel movement for three days. This indicates that the baby has gastrointestinal problems and is likely to suffer from constipation. This is because when the baby is over two years old, the number of bowel movements per day is relatively high, reaching more than two or three times. Parents should understand the reasons why their baby does not defecate, make good dietary adjustments, supplement with probiotics to adjust the baby's intestines, and use medication under the guidance of a doctor.

What to do if your two-year-old baby doesn't have a bowel movement for three days

1. Dietary adjustments

Breastfed babies generally do not suffer from constipation.

For babies with constipation caused by powdered milk, you can choose formula milk that is fortified with prebiotics and probiotics.

For babies who start eating complementary foods at 6 months old, you can add a small amount of fruit puree or juice containing sorbitol. Such as grapefruit, pear, apple, etc., have a mild laxative effect.

Baby constipation is mostly caused by insufficient dietary fiber. When adding complementary foods to your baby, you can add some vegetable puree, such as sweet potatoes, radishes, potatoes, pumpkins and other root vegetables, melons and fruits. For babies with severe constipation, you can add some water without affecting the amount of milk.

2. Supplement probiotics

Taking certain strains of probiotics can also improve constipation in some babies. Such as: Bifidobacterium lactis DN-173010, Bifidobacterium lactis BB12, Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain, Escherichia coli Niss 1917.

However, although there is improvement, there is currently no sufficient evidence to prove that probiotics can be used as a treatment. Therefore, the 2014 North American and European clinical guidelines for functional constipation in infants and young children do not recommend the routine use of probiotics.

3. Medication

In clinical practice, the treatment principles for infant constipation are as shown in the figure below, which are based on the principle of grading.

First start with fourth-line pharmaceutical dietary fiber preparations, that is, dietary adjustment to increase dietary fiber intake. If the baby is completely ineffective with dietary fiber preparations, then gradually consider using solvent and osmotic laxatives.

What causes baby constipation?

1. Physiological characteristics

The baby is still young, the abdominal muscle contraction force is weak, the anal sphincter function is immature, the abdominal pressure is increased and the pelvic floor muscle contraction is not coordinated. These reasons can cause feces to accumulate in the intestines and cause constipation. Simply put, the baby's physiological organs are immature and will be fine as he grows up.

2. Feeding method

Most babies become constipated because of the way their parents feed them. Breastfed babies are not prone to constipation because the protein structure in breast milk is very suitable for babies. The ratio of whey protein to casein is 80:20, and whey protein is easier to digest and absorb.

It also contains soluble dietary fiber oligofructose and nucleotides to help babies maintain intestinal health. Babies who feed on formula milk are more prone to constipation, especially when the formula is too concentrated.

It may also be because the glycerin in the formula is combined with α-palmitic acid, and α-palmitic acid and stearic acid combine to form water-insoluble calcium soap. Babies are prone to constipation. At this time, the baby is constipated, it’s just that the milk powder is not suitable, just change it.

Babies who add complementary foods mostly do so due to insufficient dietary fiber intake, which is also the most common reason.