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Infant Constipated, In Pain, Distressed. Fed On Formula One. Will She Be Okay?
HI, I have a 3 month old daughter. she is a fantastic sleeper and since 3 weeks old has slept from 8:30pm to anywhere between 7-8am. Due to my milk never coming thru she has been formula fed on S26 newborn since 2 weeks old and is drinking anywhere between 800ml to 950ml per 24 hours. She was 11pound 2oz and is 59cm tall. She is usually happy but i have struggled the past to days. She seams to be extremely constipated to the point that yesterday she was screaming in pain. I have tried bicycling her legs, have given her coloxyl drops and after 4 1/2 hours she finally pooped. it was greenish- yellow and very round. As soon as she pooped she went to sleep. Today i gave her coloxyl drops and also bicycled her legs. around 4pm she got extremely distressed and her belly was hard as a rock. i tried rubbing her tummy with some baby oil clockwise and gave her a bath but still nothing. she fell asleep at 8pm. Is there any natural ways to help her poo? i have double checked and i am making her formula exactly to what the directions say. If you have any thoughts or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated
Thu, 1 Aug 2013
Hello,
Thank you for placing your query on Health Care Magic
The constipation is most likely related to her feeds. Breast milk is ideal for a baby till 6 months age. Although formula feeds come real close to an ideal substitute but they can never be as accurate. The concentrations may vary. The constipation is most likely due to that. You should try thinning the feeds a bit (without compromising the calorie content too much). Consult your pediatrician for that. But lesser concentration of the feed preparation will help. Also sweetening the product or just giving sweetened milk to the baby will help. Add about 4 teaspoons of sugar to 200 mL milk. It acts as a laxative and helps to soften the stools. The hard stools may at times cause an erosion around the anal opening called a fissure and that causes pain while passing stool. Apart from dietary modification if the stool persists to be hard you can add a laxative. Making your baby sit in lukewarm water and applying some creams like SMUTH cream helps in healing of the fissure. For proper prescription consult a pediatrician or a pediatric surgeon.
Hope that helps
God bless you
Dr Anand Sinha
MCh Pediatric Surgery
Thank you for placing your query on Health Care Magic
The constipation is most likely related to her feeds. Breast milk is ideal for a baby till 6 months age. Although formula feeds come real close to an ideal substitute but they can never be as accurate. The concentrations may vary. The constipation is most likely due to that. You should try thinning the feeds a bit (without compromising the calorie content too much). Consult your pediatrician for that. But lesser concentration of the feed preparation will help. Also sweetening the product or just giving sweetened milk to the baby will help. Add about 4 teaspoons of sugar to 200 mL milk. It acts as a laxative and helps to soften the stools. The hard stools may at times cause an erosion around the anal opening called a fissure and that causes pain while passing stool. Apart from dietary modification if the stool persists to be hard you can add a laxative. Making your baby sit in lukewarm water and applying some creams like SMUTH cream helps in healing of the fissure. For proper prescription consult a pediatrician or a pediatric surgeon.
Hope that helps
God bless you
Dr Anand Sinha
MCh Pediatric Surgery
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