Constipation in Children
Quite a lot of babies look like they are concentrating hard or get very restless when passing a bowel motion. This is normal, providing the bowel motions are soft and there is no blood. Constipation is when bowel motions are very firm and look like little pebbles. Your older child may mention that it hurts to go to the toilet, complain of tummy pains or cramps, or (for toilet trained children) soil their underwear.
How should I treat it?
Making changes to your child’s diet should always be the first step — before giving medicines or suppositories. Discuss this with your Child Health Nurse.
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What to do if your child or baby is constipated
- If breastfed, breastfeed regularly. (Note: breastfed babies rarely become constipated.)
- If bottlefed, give boiled water cooled to room temperature between feeds 30ml for the young baby, more for the older baby.
- Check the strength of the formula. Are you making it up correctly? Always put the water in the bottle first, and then add powder. Don’t pack down the formula in the scoop.
- Put some oil on your hand and gently massage your baby’s tummy in a clockwise direction.
- At change time, leave nappy off for a few minutes, and do ‘bicycle’ motions with the baby’s legs, gently moving their legs backwards and forwards as if they were pushing the pedals of a bike.
| Normal bowel motions for babies | |||
| Breastfed baby | Bottle-fed baby | When baby is on solids | |
| Consistency | Soft and runny. | Soft paste (like toothpaste). | More solid (but still soft and easy to pass). |
| Appearance | Mustard yellow to orange. | Greyish green to yellow, depending on type of formula. | May contain undigested food. |
| Frequency | Every feed to once a day. | Every one to two days. | May be less frequent. |
If baby is on solid foods
- Increase the amount of fruit (such as stewed apples, pears and prune pulp) and vegetables (such as spinach and carrot). Cook these yourself if possible, as they will have more roughage than commercial baby foods.
- Decrease the amount of baby cereal for a few days. If your baby is over 6 months, make sure you use mixed grain cereal.
Constipation in older children
- Give pieces of cooked vegetables or soft fruit.
- Give extra water and/or diluted fruit juice (half water).
- Encourage your child to go to the toilet regularly.
When to seek help for a constipated baby or child
- If you have tried the above suggestion for 2–3 days and there has been no soft bowel action, see your Child and Family Health Nurse.
- If there is blood in your baby’s motion, see your family doctor.
- Encourage your child to go to the toilet regularly.
