Diaper changes are a constant with an infant.
But if you haven’t changed their diapers much for the last couple of days and whatever that came out was just hardened poop, then that could be a sign of constipation.
Here, we tell you about constipation in babies, its causes, and some home remedies to address the problem.
What is constipation in babies and what are the symptoms?
Constipation is the difficulty or delay in passage of stools for at least two weeks. However, the symptoms that indicate constipation in infants are different from those in adults. The following are the signs of constipation among babies:
- A significant delay in passing stools – sometimes the baby may not poop for days.
- The baby strains for more than 10 minutes in a day with a reddened face, indicating that they are having difficulty passing stool.
- The baby gets fussy when passing stool, an indication that the passage is painful.
- Stools are hard and pellet-like.
- Baby’s abdomen seems to be unusually bloated and stiff to touch.
- Severe constipation may cause encopresis, which is a condition that causes an involuntary leakage of a small amount of liquid stool into the diaper/underwear.
- In severe cases, there may a streak of bleeding while the baby passes motion.
- The child may start to stand and strain to pass motion.
When to rush to a doctor:
- When there is blood in the stool or the stool is black, which indicates clotted blood.
- There is constant colic due to repeated strain to pass stools.
- The baby’s anal opening is reddened or has developed an inflammation.
- The baby has fever and vomiting, does not feed properly, has poor weight gain, and seems unhealthy.
If the baby has chronic constipation, then it could be a symptom of fecal impaction, which is a serious condition where stool solidifies inside the intestine.
According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, the frequency of passing stools varies among babies, which makes it difficult to accurately tell if the baby has constipation. Nevertheless, detecting constipation can be easy when you know the normal frequency of bowel movement in babies.
