Laxatives for newborns

Symptoms, Treatment and When to Call a Doctor

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Constipation (con-sta-PA-shun) in infants can worry parents. Most of the time, your baby is not really constipated. They may not have developed a routine for pooping yet. Some babies do not develop a bowel movement (BM) pattern for a while.

An infant’s BM pattern can change if their diet changes, like switching from breastmilk to formula, starting solid foods, or drinking less formula than usual. If your baby’s stool (poop) is not soft or easily passed, then they may be constipated.

In rare cases, constipation may be caused by a lack of nerves going to the intestines or by a problem with the way the intestine formed at birth. Your baby can be tested for these conditions if your health care provider feels it is needed.

Signs of Constipation

less stools than their usual pattern
straining more than normal to have a bowel movement
a change in how the stool looks from soft and mushy to:
- small, hard pebbles, or like a large, round golf ball
- loose and watery
abdomen (belly) bloated or swollen with gas
painful cramps

Treatment

If your baby is not eating baby food yet, you may give 1 to 2 ounces of 100% fruit juice (pear, prune, cherry, or apple) once a day. Stop the juice if their stools become too loose.
If they are old enough to eat baby foods, feed them pureed pears, peaches, or prunes instead of giving them juice.
If your baby eats cereal, it may help to give oatmeal, wheat, or barley cereal. Rice cereal can cause constipation in some children.
Sometimes giving your baby a warm bath to relax them or exercising their legs, like riding a bicycle, will help stimulate the bowels to move (Picture 1).
If it has been a few days since your baby has pooped and the juice or pureed food has not worked, then you can try a glycerin suppository. Place your baby on their back. Gently push the suppository into their anus (bottom). Suppositories are meant for occasional use.
Contact your baby’s health care provider before giving them laxatives, baby mineral oil, or enemas to treat constipation.

Medical Therapy

Your child’s health care provider may order the following treatments:

Give your child medication.
Check your child’s temperature using a digital, rectal thermometer. Put a small amount of petroleum jelly (Vaseline®) on its tip before inserting into the rectum. Taking a rectal temperature may stimulate the baby to pass stool.

When to Call the Health Care Provider

Call the health care provider if any of the following occurs:

Your baby is irritable and seems to be having stomach pain. Infants will pull their legs up to their stomach and cry when they are in pain.
Your baby has constipation and develops vomiting, and their belly looks like it is bloated or filled with gas.
You see blood in their stool.
Their constipation does not get better with treatment.

If you have any questions or concerns, call your baby’s health care provider.

Constipation: Infant (PDF), Spanish (PDF), Somali (PDF), Arabic (PDF), Nepali (PDF)

How Can I Tell If My Baby is Constipated?

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New parents often worry that their babies are not pooping enough. A baby eating formula usually has a bowel movement at least once most days, but may go 1 to 2 days between bowel movements. For breastfed infants it depends on age. During the first month of life, stooling less than once a day might mean your newborn isn’t eating enough. However, breastfed infants may go several days or even a week between bowel movements, using every drop they eat to make more baby, not poop.

Infants normally work really hard to have a bowel movement, so straining at the stool isn’t necessarily alarming, even when the infant cries or gets red in the face. For an infant to have a bowel movement can be a major effort, and it shows. Just imagine trying to poop lying on your back and you’ll get the picture.

If you're concerned your baby may be constipated, ask yourself the following questions:

Is my baby excessively fussy?
Is my baby spitting up more than usual?
Is my baby having dramatically more or fewer bowel movements than before?
Are my baby's stools unusually hard, or do they contain blood related to hard stools?
Does my baby strain for more than 10 minutes without success?

These signs can all suggest actual constipation.

Is there anything I can give my baby for constipation?

Once your baby is at least a month old, if you think they are constipated, you can try giving them a little apple or pear juice. The sugars in these fruit juices aren’t digested very well, so they draw fluid into the intestines and help loosen stool. Although fruit juice is not recommended for babies under a year of age, as a rule of thumb, you can give 1 ounce a day for every month of life up to about 4 months (a 3-month-old baby would get 3 ounces). Once your infant is taking solid foods you can try vegetables and fruits, especially that old standby, prunes. If these dietary changes don’t help, it’s time to call your child's pediatrician.

More information

Baby's First Days: Bowel Movements & Urination
Common Conditions in Newborns
Choosing a Formula
Constipation in Children

Last Updated: 5/12/2022

Source: Adapted from Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (Copyright © American Academy of Pediatrics 2012)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

is it possible for a child to take, the rules of administration, dosage

Features of constipation in children

One can speak of constipation when the time interval between bowel movements increases in comparison with the individual physiological norm or with regular incomplete emptying of the intestine.

For babies of the first months of life on breastfeeding, a stool can normally be from one to 6-7 times during the day. With a gradual transition to the “common table”, the chair becomes thicker and less frequent. Constipation can be considered a decrease in stools - less than 6 times a week for babies up to 3 years ¹ .

In older children, the frequency of bowel movements can normally range from 3 times a day to 3 times a week. Constipation can be considered less than 3 stools per week for children over
3 years of age ¹ .

Non-drug correction

If the baby has constipation, first of all, it is necessary to review and adjust the feeding process: the feeding schedule and the amount of food. It may be necessary to refuse unreasonably early introduction of complementary foods. A nursing mother should drink enough fluids and limit the use of foods that stimulate gas formation and slow down the peristalsis of the large intestine: strong tea and coffee, alcoholic beverages, chocolate, sugar syrups, citrus fruits ² .

In a bottle-fed baby with constipation, use only adapted milk formulas and avoid frequent changes.

The baby needs to be provided with a sufficient amount of liquid: clean water, you can give herbal tea with fennel or chamomile for babies. Starting from 4-4.5 months, the baby can be given weakly concentrated dried fruit compotes or berry fruit drinks. It is worth introducing complementary foods in the form of vegetable and fruit purees no earlier than the 5th month of a child's life ² .

Abdominal massage may be helpful for babies with constipation problems before feeding.

Constipation can also be relieved by position therapy (laying the baby on the stomach with legs bent and brought to the body), light massage of the perianal area ² .

In the diet of a child with constipation older than one year of age, there should be food rich in dietary fiber and vegetable fiber, fermented milk and dairy products containing lacto- and bifidobacteria

^2.3 .

Wheat bran is abundant in dietary fiber, but its use in young children may be limited due to the bran's ability to absorb nutrients in the intestinal lumen. The diet should also include vegetables and fruits ² . It is also important for the child to observe the drinking regime - drinking enough water ⁴ .

Physical activity

A necessary condition for preventing constipation is constant regular physical activity (especially morning exercises), sufficient exposure of the child to fresh air (in cold weather - at least 2 hours, in warm - 4 hours or more) ³ .

Formation of toilet habits

To form toilet habits from the age of one and a half years, a child should be put on the pot 2-3 times a day after meals for 5 minutes (toilet training) ¹ . At this time, the baby should not play with toys, look at pictures in books, watch TV ³ .

Suppression of the urge to defecate

Suppression of the urge to defecate may be the main causative factor of constipation if the child is constantly busy and his day is scheduled to the minute, as well as in an unusual and uncomfortable environment ¹ . Therefore, for normal bowel movements, a comfortable toilet is important, including a footrest, if necessary, to provide support during defecation ⁴ .

Drug treatment

It is believed that even the initial therapy of constipation in children should not be limited only to the correction of nutrition and regimen. Such changes may increase the frequency of stools in healthy children, but not reduce symptoms in those with constipation ² .

Some drugs used in adults may be restricted for use in children for various reasons.

Also, some laxatives may have an unpleasant taste or require large amounts of liquid to be taken, which may make children reluctant to take the medicine ² . It is important to note that many children may have a negative attitude towards rectal manipulation: the use of enemas may cause additional fear and discomfort in children regarding defecation ^2.5 . In addition, often the use of rectal laxatives is considered possible only after unsuccessful treatment with oral laxatives ⁶ .

For the treatment of constipation in children, a doctor may prescribe a drug from the group of stimulant laxatives from the age of 0 years - oral drops Guttalax®

^2.7 .

The active ingredient, sodium picosulfate, is activated directly in the colon by bacterial degradation. Guttalax® promotes the natural process of defecation ⁷ .

Guttalax® has a dual mechanism of action:

On the one hand, it helps to increase intestinal motility, stimulating the act of defecation, and on the other hand, it helps to soften the stool by attracting water / electrolytes into the lumen of the large intestine ⁷.

What else is important to know about Guttalax®

The drug is not addictive when taken in recommended dosages ⁷

Guttalax® does not affect the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the intestines ⁷

Guttalax® drops do not have taste and smell, they can be easily added to the child in any food or drink

The drug in the form of drops allows you to choose an individual effective dose for the child ⁷

The use of drugs, including laxatives, such as Guttalax®, in such a special population group as children, is possible only after consultation doctor ⁷

Instructions for use and dosage*
⁷
According to the instructions for medical use, the standard dosage of Guttalax® for children is:

Children from 0 to 4 years old
90®025

90427 : 1 drop per 2 kg body weight per day

Over 10 years old

Dosage: 10-20 drops per day

Children 4 to 10 years old

Dosage: 5-10 drops per day

The laxative effect may take 6-12 hours to develop

To help your child go to the toilet in the morning, you can give him Guttalax® drops at night before bed

* Use Guttalax® in children only after consulting a doctor.

Treatment of constipation involves a holistic approach, including information for parents on toilet training, advice on nutrition, drinking regimen, physical activity and daily routine ² .

More about the drug

THERE ARE CONTRAINDICATIONS. IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST.

List of medicines for constipation for newborns (list of laxatives)

Contents

In the baby of the first months of life, the digestive system is not yet fully formed, this is what explains frequent dyspeptic disorders. A newborn baby may have flatulence, loose stools, or constipation (About Constipation: Signs and Causes of Constipation in a Baby). The inability to completely empty the bowels leads to abdominal pain, crying and it is natural that every parent is looking for a cure for constipation for newborns.

First you need to understand exactly what constipation is. Some mothers believe that if their child has not emptied the intestines for three or four days, then this is already a serious problem that needs to be addressed to a doctor. In fact, this is not entirely true, in some babies a rare bowel movement is considered a variant of the norm, and if the general well-being does not suffer, the baby is alert, eats and sleeps well, then your anxiety can be postponed. (How many times should a baby poop)

True constipation is a condition in which the baby, making all his efforts, that is, pushing, straining and groaning, cannot get rid of the accumulated feces. At the same time, he cries, presses his legs to his stomach, worries, refuses to feed.

The impossibility of emptying the intestines can disturb just every few days, and every day, it depends on the physiological characteristics of the body and on what you feed the baby - breast milk or mixtures.

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During constipation, solid stools are excreted, sometimes with an admixture of mucus or blood streaks. During a bowel movement, the baby cries, his face turns red from straining, there is severe anxiety, and this continues until the intestines are completely emptied.

After the first constipation, you should not immediately run to the pharmacy and look for a laxative for newborns, any medicine is still chemistry and it is unlikely to be useful for the baby's body. First you need to deal with the child's diet and eliminate the identified errors.

Pediatricians often advise young mothers to adhere to the following recommendations:

If the baby is fed with mother's milk, then you need to be especially careful in compiling your diet. It is not advised to use strengthening foods, nutrition should be diversified with plant components (Nutrition for a nursing mother).
A child, both bottle-fed and breast-fed, needs additional portions of boiled water. Every day, the baby needs to give several sips of water from a small spoon in between feedings.
The baby must actively move - daily exercises and a light massage of the tummy have a positive effect on the condition of the intestines. Spreading on the stomach also helps with constipation.
Babies in the first months of life with problems with stool should be given dill water or a few drops of prunes decoction.

If all the measures taken do not help, then it is necessary to visit a pediatrician - the doctor will assess the general condition of the child and suggest one of the safest laxatives for newborns.

Laxatives recommended and approved for use

Laxatives for babies in their first months of life are available in several dosage forms and most often they are syrups, solutions or suppositories.

Most often, for rare problems with emptying and to provide quick help to the tummy, pediatricians advise resorting to the use of rectal laxative suppositories, you can buy them at any pharmacy.

Rectal suppositories act at the local level, so they do not have a negative effect on the entire body as a whole. Candles with glycerin are considered the safest, they can be used from the first days of a baby's life, so the expectant mother can stock them up in advance. For newborn babies with constipation, you need to use 1/8 of the candle, for children from a month and older, the dosage is doubled. Laxative suppositories soften feces, make defecation painless and easy. It is only necessary to remember that any medicine is used only in extreme cases, otherwise the intestines will get used to working with the help of its stimulation.
Syrups and solutions. The pharmaceutical industry produces a wide variety of products to facilitate bowel movements. Moms need to remember that you need to choose only where the age of the child is indicated and the instructions are fully written.
- Prelaks - the main active ingredient of the syrup is lactulose, which improves intestinal motility and positively affects its microflora. Prelaks is also used as a prophylactic against constipation, the effect of its first application begins to appear within an hour. More about syrup
- Duphalac is a laxative made from natural whey components. Delicious syrup can be given to a baby from the first days of life, you need to remember that the maximum effect from its use most often develops on the next day. In the first days of taking the baby, flatulence may increase, after a few days it usually disappears. Duphalac has a positive effect on the normalization of the intestinal microflora, which leads to the stabilization of its work. Article about duphalac
- Normolact is another laxative based on lactulose. The drug is started with high doses, then, when the desired effect is achieved, they are gradually reduced. The medicine can be used for a long time.
Microlax is a new generation drug that acts as a microclyster. The effect of its use comes pretty quickly, the only thing that stops many mothers from buying is a fairly high price.
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