Constipation In Infants

Unlike constipation in older children – which can often go unrecognized – parents of infants can often be very vigilant of their babies stooling (i.e. pooping) habits.  While constipation can happen in infants, sometimes what parents report is not really constipation.

What is usually NOT constipation:  

·        Making faces or noises when pooping

Babies often strain, grunt, grimace and turn red in the face when having a bowel movement. This is not a sign of a problem  

·        Not pooping every day

There is no law that says you have to poop every day!  Some babies will poop two times a week and that is normal as long as their stool is soft.  Breastfed babies, while they poop frequently right after birth, often poop less after a few weeks as they get the hang of digesting the breast milk and don’t have much waste left!

What is constipation:  

·        Hard, uncomfortable stools (like pellets)  

·        Withholding of stool

Like with older kids where the baby strains to hold the poop in instead of pushing it out because the act of pooping is uncomfortable

What to do about hard stool:

For babies before they’ve started solids, we often recommend mixing 1 teaspoon of brown sugar with 4 oz. of water and giving 2-4 oz of this mixture once daily as needed. 

For babies who have already started solids, you could try introducing certain fruits.  You might also try adding 2-4 oz of undiluted juice daily (normally we say babies and kids don’t need juice but the sugar will help them go and it is safer than medicine!)  Helpful fruits and juices are as follows:  

·        Fruits – Grapes, Pear, Apricot, Plum , Cherry, Peach

·        Juices – White Grape (the best!), Apple Juice (the sugar helps you to poop), Pear, Apricot, Plum , Peach

Some parents ask about low iron formula or avoiding cereals to deal with constipation.  While iron may not help with constipation, we feel that it is an important nutrient to prevent anemia in babies and make their blood strong.  We would not recommend low iron formula to treat constipation.  Instead it is better to balance iron-rich formula and cereal with fruits and juices as above.  We also do not recommend using suppositories or enemas for babies without consulting your doctor.  

If these measures do not help your babies constipation or you have further questions, please contact your doctor.