Newborn baby has not had a bowel movement for a week

If a newborn baby has not defecated for a week, parents should pay attention. First of all, they should understand the child's feeding situation and some of the child's symptoms. Generally speaking, newborns have relatively more bowel movements. If a child has not defecated for a week, this may be related to feeding. For example, for a child who is fed with formula, if he is breastfed, it may be related to the mother's diet. At this time, emphasis should be placed on nutrition. Let's take a look at this aspect.

Newborn baby not having bowel movement for a week

When the baby has not defecated for a week, parents should first check whether the baby has eaten enough during these few days. If the baby is still not full, he or she probably will not defecate.

If you are breastfeeding, you also need to check whether your diet structure is reasonable. If it is caused by your own dietary factors, you need to adjust your diet structure, avoid eating foods that are easy to cause inflammation, and feed them to your baby through breast milk. You can give your baby warm honey water. Honey water has the effect of moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements, making it easier to defecate. If the baby has already started eating complementary foods, you can also add more crude fiber foods to your diet.

You can give your baby a circular massage on his abdomen to help him defecate by promoting intestinal peristalsis. On the baby's abdomen, with the navel as the center, massage in circles in a clockwise direction with appropriate force. This touch can also increase the affection between mother and baby. You can also use enema to relieve constipation under the doctor's advice. When using, be sure to lubricate the front end of the enema to avoid damaging the baby's rectal mucosa.

The number of bowel movements per day in normal children can vary greatly. Some may defecate several times a day, while others may defecate once every 5-3 days. As long as the stool is of a certain amount, not too dry or too watery, and there are no discomfort symptoms, it is normal. Even if the frequency of bowel movements is low, but the stool quality and quantity are normal and there are no symptoms, it cannot be considered abnormal.

If the stool is dry, small in amount and difficult to pass, although it may occur 2-3 times a day, the total amount may be less than usual, and it should also be considered constipation. Especially if there is also a loss of appetite, abdominal distension, and frequent urge to defecate, it should be considered as constipation. If you normally have regular bowel movements but suddenly have not had a bowel movement for more than two days, especially if it is accompanied by abdominal pain or bloating, it should be considered constipation and the cause should be identified promptly.

Children may suffer from constipation if they do not have enough food. At this time, they often cry because of hunger and do not gain weight. I have seen some parents who, because they did not understand the usage of milk powder, only gave their children half a kilogram of milk powder per month, resulting in malnutrition and constipation. If children drink too little water, especially in summer, their stools may become too dry and constipation may occur. Fever can cause decreased appetite and increased water loss through the respiratory tract, which can cause temporary constipation. Food that is too refined and lacks fiber, such as refined rice, refined flour, meat, eggs and chocolate, and lacks whole grains and fruits and vegetables rich in fiber, can also cause constipation.

Newborn baby bowel movement frequency

1. Frequency of meconium: Newborn babies have irregular bowel movements every day. At first, the baby will expel the meconium that has accumulated for 9 months, but it must be cleared out through frequent bowel movements, so the number of bowel movements will increase. It usually takes 2-3 days, 3-5 times a day, for the dark green color to disappear. If the baby has no meconium within 24 hours after birth, parents should pay attention and suspect that congenital malformation of the digestive tract has caused fecal obstruction. The baby needs to go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

2. Number of bowel movements during breastfeeding: For breastfed babies, the frequency of bowel movements is very flexible. Usually, the frequency is higher in the neonatal period, 2-5 times a day, or even after each feeding. This is because breast milk is easy to digest, easy to excrete, and because of the reflex peristalsis of the intestines after food is input. Therefore, if a breastfed baby has loose stools or has more frequent bowel movements, it is normal as long as he is in good spirits and feeding, is gaining weight normally, and does not have difficulty defecating, abdominal pain, or bloating, and parents do not need to worry.

3. Number of artificially fed poops: Artificially fed newborn babies will have less poop, which is usually drier, rougher, and slightly harder like paste. But as long as it is not difficult to defecate and does not look like sheep feces, it is fine. If there is no problem with digestion, it will usually be earthy yellow or golden yellow with a slightly sour smell, about 1-2 times a day.