Infant dyschezia

[Amethyst2502]

Has anyone got any experience of infant dyschezia?

My little girl is a week old tomorrow and at first had no problems with having a poo but for last couple of days she starts grunting and screaming for ages until she eventually goes. When she goes her poo is soft and looks normal (she is bottle fed) so she can't be constipated. When I've googled it seems that infant dyschezia is the most likely explanation and eventually she will learn how to go on her own.

In the meantime it breaks my heart seeing her crying even though what I've read implies that the crying is to help use her muscles to poo not because she's in pain.
Anyone in or been in the same boat?

My DD was the same. It got better around 12 weeks but she was 4 weeks premature so you might see a difference sooner.

A warm washcloth on her tummy helped, as well as massaging her tummy and bicycling her legs.

Yes. It’s a normal development phase which most babies go through. It doesn’t normally last long.

All babies have this xxx

Google baby massage, massage tummy in clockwise gently and do bicycle leg rotations to help her tummy muscles move xxx

My 5 week old is slowly coming out of it ! So normal! My first daughter had it too.

Just to speed things up. Get a cotton bud, put some Vaseline on.. massage around her anal hole and it will help!

I do it occasionally so he doesn't become reliant but it works x

Hi I have the same issue, we had been giving my little one lactulose as we thought he was constipated but his stools ended up really watery so have stopped and I've just realised that it's probably dyschezia! Only issue I have is because he's straining so much he brings up his milk as well. I have no advice but feel what your going through xx

@Jayna16 have you spoken to a doctor?

I'm trying to get an appt with GP to discuss it. He was born premature so I have tried to get in touch with his consultant too. It seems there isn't much that can be done about it anyway 😞

I asked because I was wondering who prescribed your lo Lactulose as it isn’t suitable for babies.

@Jayna16 how old is your LO? It is normal and he will outgrow it - might take a bit longer than average if he was premature. Did a GP prescribe lactulose? @Fitforforty lactulose is fine for babies - my DD was prescribed it but she was a bit older (6 months) at the time.

Yes mine was premature and had this - grunting and thrashing about all the time. It worried me too at the time but there’s honestly not a lot you can do and they grow out of it quite quickly x

[quote Vicky1989x]**@Jayna16* how old is your LO? It is normal and he will outgrow it - might take a bit longer than average if he was premature. Did a GP prescribe lactulose? @Fitforforty* lactulose is fine for babies - my DD was prescribed it but she was a bit older (6 months) at the time.[/quote]
It’s fine to be prescribed but young babies can have a rare ish gut issue so babies much always been seen by a GP. Giving it to a baby who doesn’t need it can risk them becoming dehydrated. It’s not a case of it’s been fine or not to give to babies it’s not always the right thing to give which is why it is sold over the counter for babies.

We had it bad, too. DC got the hang of it by around 2 and a bit months. Hang in there!

Our little boy is 7 & a half weeks old & we have had the grunting, crying & straining before poos on & off for about 5 weeks now but I have only just found infant dyschezia on Google this week, have spoken to both HV & GP about it before & neither of them mentioned it.

We have found warm baths, tummy massage (in clockwise direction) & bicycle legs all help but some days he just takes his sweet time & we have to work through the grunting & straining… really hoping he grows out of it very soon as PPs have said their little ones have done, as it can be hard to watch at times 😔