Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice. I have a daughter who has not long turned three and has real fears about pooping.
Pretty much since six months old we have always had issues when it comes to bowel movements. She has never been regular and can often go 2-3 days without a movement but recently this has gotten much worse. About a month ago she had a particular painful experience after not going to the toilet for over a week. When it came out it was incredibly hard and sore, and she kept repeating 'mummy i'm scared' which was heartbreaking.
Since then she has not had a proper movement. She has been potty trained for almost 5 months but because of her reluctance to go we're having multiple daily accidents at nursery.
If she shows signs of needing to go she tenses help and turns away - we ask her if she needs to go and she just says no. If we try to put her on toilet she says no and pushes us away. She will sit to go wee's but again if we do manage to get her onto the toilet for a poo she won't go.
We've tried all sorts to correct this. She's been on Movical from about 8 months old. We've tried rewards charts, we've tried bribing which have all had some success but recently nothing seems to working. It' a vicious circle - she's scared to go which means that when she eventually does it's extremely painful. We're really not sure what to do next? Has anyone had any similar experiences? We looking into taking her to a paediatrician but given this appears to be psychological we're not sure if this is the best action. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks.