Home Remedies for Baby Constipation

Don’t get surprised if your baby suffers from constipation. It may be upsetting and unbelievable for you but is very much true. If your baby suffers from irregular bowl movement or if stools are very hard, it’s clearly a symptom of chronic constipation. If the problem gets severe, blood may come out of rectum. You should consult a child specialist for treatment of constipation in your baby. However, there are also some effective home remedies that you can try out

Let us first look at some common causes of constipation in babies.

• Usually the babies live on breast milk for six months, after which they are introduced to solid food though breastfeeding continues until two years or more. A sudden change in food pattern can cause constipation in them as they are used to easily digestible breast milk.
• Low-fiber diet
• Intake of excessive dairy products like cheese, yoghurt and milk.
• Some foods like white potatoes, pasta, breads, cereals, applesauce, bananas etc may cause constipation



Effective Exercises to Cure Constipation in Babies

There are some effective natural remedies to cure babies of constipation. Change in food pattern and get your baby engaged into regular physical exercises. Those will be of great help for them in this regard.




Warm Bath

According to some child specialists, a warm bath will give your baby a quick relief from constipation. Warm bath is thought to make the babies feel relaxed and ‘get bowls moving’. While drying your baby, give it gentle tummy message.





Tummy Message

Gently message baby’s tummy and rub the same in clockwise direction. Place one of your hands on the baby’s naval and do make a circular motion while messaging the tummy and start moving your hands away from the naval.




Bicycle Legs

Lay your baby on its back. Hold its legs lightly and in a half-bent posture. Slowly move the baby’s legs in a way resembling bicycle riding. Alternate tummy message and bicycle legs to help the baby get rid of constipation problem.




Tips on How to Treat Constipation in Babies by Changing Food Pattern

Remedies for Babies (Younger Than 4 Months)

If your baby is younger than 4 months, introduce it to light fruit juice of grape, apple or prune. Give your baby one or two ounces of fruit juice twice every day. Also apply some of the above mentioned exercises.




Remedies for Babies (4 Months to 1 Year Old)

If your baby is 4 months to 1 year old, place some fiber-rich food and fruits on its regular diet chart. Prunes, peaches, apricots, pears, peas, spinach, plums are some foods containing a good amount of fiber. Prunes are natural laxative element. However, it should be administered in small amount; otherwise your baby will get gassy. Other fruits mentioned above are also considered good laxative agents coming from natural sources and help relieve constipation problem.




Remedies for Babies Taking Solid Food






If your baby has started taking solid food, keep BRAT out of the chart of its regular consumption. Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast contribute to constipation and also aggravate the problem. By keeping them out from the list of regular intakes, you can help in elimination of constipation problem that is currently troubling the little body.

Oatmeal cereals, barley, apricots and most of the vegetables are considered ideal intakes to help ‘move those things’ out of body easily. Fruit juice works like a magic for the babies with constipation problem. However, you must give juice in moderation to your baby as these are not as nutritious as breast milk.





Intake of More Water

For both breast and bottle-fed babies, it is important to increase water intake. If your baby has been suffering from constipation problem, give her more water following each feeding as it will help bowels move easily.






Stool Softeners

These tools are meant to relive the problem of constipation in babies. However, such tools should be used only if your pediatrician recommends those. The only problem is if these are frequently used, your baby will depend on them in the long run.




Conclusion

Last but not the least, always consult with your pediatrician in regards to what you should give to your baby instead of making a list on your own. It may be that your baby is allergic to a particular food and that must be avoided. The specialist will prepare a diet chart to relive the problem and can also prescribe medicines in order to ease bowl movement.