Can a 8 week old infant be constipated?

Question

If she could be constipated, what are the symptoms and what should I give her? Ii breastfeed her exclusively and plan to continue to do so.

Answer 1

You are doing the absolute BEST for her by sticking to it! Yes she CAN be constipated but it is unlikely if you are exclusively nursing. Her stools will be hard and probably small. Infrequent ones is NOT constipation, these are probably what you are seeing, but they can be perfectly normal.

Answer 2

It is virtually impossible for an exclusively breastfed baby to become constipated. However if you give vitamin drops then this can cause constipation, also certain medications.

However it is normal for a breastfed baby to go up to 10 days without pooping. The ONLY way to diagnose constipation in an infant it to see the hard poop. Lack of poop is not diagnostic of constipation except when accompanied by a distended abdomen and a this must be diagnosed with a medical exam.

Treating non-existent constipation can eventually lead to a baby who can not go with medication/stimulation

"Even if a baby is strictly breast-fed, the frequency of stooling varies among infants. While a frequent stool is most common, babies may stool only one time every other day and still be completely normal. Constipation in fact refers not only to the frequency of stools, but also to the consistency. Therefore, if an infant poops every third day but it comes out soft, this would not be considered constipation, and no therapy is indicated. In fact, at 3-6 weeks of age, breast-fed babies may only have one stool a week. This is because breast milk leaves very little waste in the intestines to be passed. Again, if the stool, when passed, is not hard, this is completely normal. In general, it is almost impossible for strictly breast-fed babies to become constipated."
http://www.umc-cares.org/health_info/article.asp?Category=Childrens&ArticleID=166

"Between 4 to 6 weeks of age, the pattern can change to less frequent bowel movements, Brown-Ginsberg says. The quantity per movement will be greater, though. "Some breastfed babies can have a bowel movement every few days or even once a week," she says. "As long as it remains soft, it is not constipation.""
http://breastfeed.com/resources/articles/inout.htm

"At around the age of six weeks, the stooling pattern of a breastfed baby may change. It is not uncommon for the breastfed baby to skip days between bowel movements. Some babies skip every other day, some go every two or three days, some once every 5 - 7 days, and some babies hold out for up to 11 or 12 days at a time - then have quite a FULL diaper when they DO go!

There is absolutely no reason to intervene and try methods commonly used to "induce" a bowel movement (such as prune or other types of juices, water, glycerin suppositories, or using rectal stimulation). If artificial stimulation is done too often, the baby's system can become dependant upon this stimulation to "go", and no longer is able to have a normal bowel movement on their own."
http://www.mother-2-mother.com/normal.htm#NormalStools

Answer 3

It is very rare for exclusively breast fed babies to experience constipation. A reliable sign is when your baby does have a bowel movement it is very hard with small pebble-like appearance. Grunting, crying, or turning red in the face while having a bowel movement is all very common behavior in babies regardless if they are fed breast milk or formula. Because breast milk is very digestible, it is not uncommon for breast fed babies to go several days and maybe even up to a week between bowel movements. There is often just not that much waste produced in breast milk consumption. As long as your baby is having several wet diapers in a day's time, there is not much concern if your baby goes days between bowel movements. If your baby's tummy becomes distended or hard to the touch and she seems to be in pain, then you will want to contact your pediatrician. Do not give your baby anything but breast milk, it is all she needs until time to introduce solids around 6 months old. My youngest child would go 4-5 days between bowel movements when she was a baby. I had her to the doctor 3 times before she was 10 days old because she had a meconium bowel movement in the hospital, but did not poop again until she was 10 days old. Every time, they just pushed on her tummy to make sure there wasn't a blockage, but she was always fine. She is now 9 and it is still common for her to go 1-3 days between bowel movements. EDIT: As a breast feeding mom, know that there are no restrictions to your diet intake. Occassionally you may find a particular type of food will cause a little excessive gas to either you or your baby or perhaps both. There isn't a big concern over this however, and there are lots of Old Wives' Tales about food to avoid while breast feeding. I ate everything I wanted to when I breast fed and had no problem. Take each food on a case by case basis - if it bothers you or your baby, avoid it for a few weeks, but you'll likely be able to re-add it to your diet later, when your baby is a little older.

Answer 4

It's almost impossible for a breastfed baby to become constipated, but it can happen. And sheer lack of movements alone does NOT indicate constipation. Signs of constipation are hard/dry stools, and bleeding (indicating a tear). If your baby seems uncomfortable when she poops, try just a tiny amount of pear or prune juice (like 1/2 oz, but check with your doctor first). If she seems to struggle to push and turns red, that can be absolutely normal - it takes work to get it out! And it's even harder to do when you're laying flat all the time and you don't have gravity helping out...

Answer 5

Breastfed babies typically don't get as constipated as formula fed ones. Symptoms of constipation are no BMs for more than 2 days, BMs that are pebble-like, straining to have a BM. My daughter was extremely constipated. We added a dab of dark Karo syrup to her bottles (per the doctor's advice). Also, the doctor recommended lying her on a blanket and moving her legs like she was riding a bicycle. Those two things combined really helped. I would check with your pediatrician if you're concerned though, sometimes just a call in to the nurse can give you all the help you need.

Answer 6

Like most of the above answers: possible but not likely for a breastfed infant. Babies do have a hard time passing stool sometimes, they are new at this stuff. Grunting, straining, red face, legs up, etc. And yes, harder to go if they're lying down. Babies tend to poop more frequently in their carseats or bouncy seat or ANY position where they are upright.

You can try to help her by putting a little petroleum jelly on a rectal thermometer, or a Q-Tip, pushing it into her rectum a little ways (tip of Q-Tip), and hold it there. She will attempt to push it out, and in doing so, will push out anything else in there. You want to do something like that at the changing table, diaper under her butt, wipes nearby, and a spare diaper or two to catch any overflow. ONLY do this after checking with your pediatrician to give them a chance to correctly diagnose, and after it's been 2 days without a bowel movement.

Answer 7

it is possible she is constipated, but not likely on breastmilk alone. I would call your dr and get her in to be checked as soon as possible. I wouldn't want to take any chances. My public health nurse had a constipation problem with her son. She was told to rub his anus with petrolium jelly, I think. Like a massage to relax and loosen his bowels. She did this for up to a week before he finally let go and emptied out all over her, her husband and the sofa. They were happy and grossed out at the same time.

But I would ask your dr before you try anything. It might also be possible that she is slightly dehydrated making it harder to empty her bowels.

Answer 8

Your baby is only constipated if her stools are hard, pebble like and hard to pass.

It is perfectly normal for a breastfed baby to not poop every day because breastmilk is so easily digested there is hardly any waste.

Breastmilk is a natural laxitive and your baby DOES NOT NEED anything else until after six months of age.

You are doing just fine!!

Answer 9

My best friends baby was going days with out haveing a bowel movement, she only breast fed. The doctor said that this can be normal and as long as when she went it wasn't hard then she was okay. The doctor gave her suppositories but she was only supposed to give them to the baby if she went 4 or 5 days.
Megan

Answer 10

They can only get constipated at this age if you ate something that is undigestable for her.

If she is in pain bcoz of this then g see a doctor but if she looks fine just keep breastfeeding and keep a watch on ur diet.

When my baby was born I was told not to eat certain types of food a lot. Some of them are:

Potatoes
Green Peas
Cucumber
Salad leaves
and some other things

I don't know how much of this is true but I made sure not to eat them just to be on the safe side.

You can try using Metamucil bcz if you take fibre then it will go to her too which will help making her stool soft.