Newborns are especially prone to constipation, thanks to immature digestive systems paired with common diet changes. When your infant is constipated, you may notice hard stools, baby struggling to make a bowel movement, a hardened abdomen or days without a bowel movement. All of the symptoms add up to an uncomfortable, cranky baby. Constipation prevention is a matter of making changes slowly and offering hydration to help aid in your baby's digestive process.
Step 1
Breastfeed your baby. Breast milk is easy to digest and designed to help your baby's immature intestinal tract remove the necessary nutrients and expel the stool efficiently. While formula offers adequate nutrition, it may be more difficult for your baby to digest, resulting in constipation. Even if you cannot breastfeed full-time, pumping or supplementing can help prevent constipation.
Step 2
Transition slowly when you begin to offer new foods into your baby's diet. While you shouldn't offer solids to your baby until she's at least 4 months old, changing brands of formula or offering solids too early can cause constipation, since your baby's digestive system is not yet equipped to process the new foods and ingredients.
Step 3
Mix 2 oz. of 100 percent fruit juice with 2 oz. room-temperature water and offer it in a bottle once per day. What may seem like a small amount of extra fiber can make a big difference in how efficiently your infant's digestive system works and can even help relieve frequent constipation. If offering fruit juice results in diarrhea, reduce the amount to just 1 oz. each of juice and water.
Step 4
Massage your baby's abdomen or pump his legs 10 minutes to an hour after eating or when he seems constipated. Moving your hands around your baby's tummy can help reduce tension, which could be preventing him from expelling stools efficiently. Laying him on a blanket and moving his legs around can simulate physical activity to help aid in the digestion process.
Step 5
Schedule an appointment with your pediatrician should your baby become constipated frequently or go without a soiled diaper for more than three days at a time. While each baby has her own natural rhythm, a general lack of bowel movements could point to a problem, such as hypothyroidism or cystic fibrosis.
