Baby constipation

The constipation problem may occur at any age, including a newborn babies and preschoolers. It is believed that constipation is the most common pathology of the gastrointestinal tract in children. Some parents do not pay enough attention to this aspect of the child’s life; others have the wrong idea about problem of children’s defecation and its treatment. So what is baby constipation? When should you turn to doctor?

Constipation is called a violation of bowel function, resulting in increased intervals between acts of defecation. Newborn baby who is breastfed, the frequency of stool may coincide with the number of feedings (from 2 to 6 times a day). Gradually, with age, decreasing frequency of stool, and the period of introduction of complementary foods (about 6 months) defecation occurs within one – two times a day.

In babies on artificial feeding, the frequency of defecation usually occurs two times a day. But we should remember that in healthy children of first year of life the defecation is more often mushy consistency. Those cases when the baby has noted painful defecation dense consistency of feces are also considered as baby constipation.

Defecation in baby may be daily, but accompanied by straining, the changing of defecation nature (”large” diameter of stercorous cylinder, “sheep” cal – thick, divided into smaller fragments).

This situation is also characteristic for dysfunction of the large intestine and can be characterized as chronic constipation an act of defecation in less than 6 times per week for children less than 3 years of age and at least 3 times a week for children over 3 years. Baby constipation is often accompanied by abdominal pain, which they often react with crying and anxiety.

The movement of fecal is made by reducing the intestinal muscles under the influence of nerve endings. The feces lifting down the intestine is carried out through its undulating contractions – peristalsis.

Urge to defecation occur when the fecal comes in the rectum, they stretch it and irritate the nerve endings, which are there. In older children the defecation is done consciously under the control of the central nervous system. Total immaturity of the neuro-muscular system in children’s first months of life may contribute to fecal delay.