My baby is struggling to poo

[LauraElizabeth92]

My 7 week old daughter seems like she struggles to poo sometimes, she really strains and sometimes cries, I feel so helpless :( is there anything I can do to help her?

Mine was the same. We started with lactulose and glycerin suppositories (both available without prescription). Give them a try, it's so horrible to see them in discomfort isn't it? They helped DD a bit to start with, but her constipation carried on so she was prescribed Movicol by our GP, which we mix with her milk. Good luck! x

I lot of the time she manages to go no problem, but it breaks my heart when she struggles because I feel like I can't do anything. Thank you for the suggestions, will give them a try.

Is she breastfed or formula fed? Constipation quite common in formula fed babies. Is she actually constipated though? The poo will be hard and pellet like if so. You can offer 1oz of cooled boiled water between feeds and if it gets really bad some freshly squeezed juice from an orange on a teaspoon. I would try that first rather than medication.

Ah yes, should have said! We tried water/OJ/prune juice and DD absolutely refused to drink it (still does at almost 1 but that's another story). Definitely try that first, I hate that DD is on medication but it really was the last resort.

She's breastfed and I'm pretty sure she's not constipated, just think she struggles sometimes.

Small babies do tend to seem like they are struggling with poo and wind. For the most part it's just them getting used to the bodily functions. It's really horrible to see though. If the poo is always the correct consistency for breastfed poo then there's no constipation (paste like or runny). If the poo is hard and pellet like, then they are constipated.

Breastfed babies don't poo that much. Is she crying?

I had this problem with my dd when she was a similar age. She seemed so uncomfortable but it wasn't constipation. Doctors just gave me the whole breastfed babies don't need to poo that often thing but I know she was unhappy.) Very frustrating and not nice for you but she did grow out of it. Lifting her legs up towards her tummy used to help sometimes if there was any wind trapped

My 11 week old DS is the same. He will grunt and strain for hours some days. Its normal poo though, not constipated. Very hard to watch him doing it I do try putting him in different positions - bicycle his legs, gently rub his tummy and lower back. Most times its a breastfeed that does the trick, althlough he ruins my nipples with his wriggling... Let us know if anything works for you...

Oh, and to those who said bf babies don't poo much...can you send a memo to dear DS...

Being in the bath helps them to go sometimes. The warm water just encourages the motion. You could also put soap on her bum. It's an old trick my gran told me years and years ago when my son was struggling to go. Bar of soap, work some into a really soapy lather and wipe on bum. Keep wiping because sometimes the action of wiping makes them poo more.

Baby have to learn to poop.

My breastfed baby has gone through phases When he's struggled, drop of infacol always results in a poo

My GP recommended fennel tea for me to help with DDs gas and it really works.

We had the health visitor yesterday and I mentioned to her about baby struggling to poo and she said it's perfectly normal, because they have to learn to coordinate their body to poo.

DD was the same. She was BF too. She would go up to a week before pooing. She wasn't constipated, poo was always soft, but she definitely was uncomfortable and much happier after she did poo.

It's normal but that doesn't mean it's not uncomfortable. Trapped wind is normal too and that makes them jolly uncomfortable too.

I found the rotavirus vaccine mostly sorted DD out - you should be getting that in the next week IIRC? Cranial osteopath also helped (but we were going for another reason, I wouldn't go for poo alone).

Tummy massage and pushing her knees into her chest on the changing mat helped a bit too (though usually produced wind rather than poo)

You have literally described my 5 week old perfectly !
Its usually late afternoon this happens, i worry about going out some times in case she gets distressed!

We gave ours some cooked boiled water. Always worked

Hi op, its true that babies need to learn to coordinate - apparently it take a while for them to learn that they have to unclench, so they are often straining against a clenched bum, bless them 😆. If it’s not hard and pellet-like then it’s not constipation - try bicycle legs and warm baths to help get her going x