Prem baby screaming before poo

[Lia87]

My dd was born at 32 weeks, and is now 10 weeks, but from about 6 weeks began screaming before her poo's for about 2-3 hours, getting gradually more distressed during this time, and refusing to even latch on to calm down towards the end.

She is breastfed, and poo's are runny, she only does 1 a day though, sometimes missing a day, and always in the evening for some reason
the health visitor said some babies just dont like the feeling of it, but it really seems like she's in pain, has anyone elses prem's/babies been like this? Or can you think of any way to ease the discomfort/pain?

i can think of some techniques we tried to help with tummy ache...

having a nice warm bath with mummy
laying him over my knee on his tummy to try and relieve any pressure
having a heat pack under his tummy, whilst laying down on my lap
'cycling' his legs to try and get things moving, i think clockwise in the best

Yes, MiniPop couldn't poo or fart without making a song and dance about it (poor thing!), he used to go 4 days without pooing and he would be in SO much discomfort, the poor thing. It's really worrying isn't it?

Have you taken her to the doctor to have her tummy checked? (It should be soft), could it be wind?

If so, other tips are:-

a warm bath (although MiniPop screamed so much during baths this never worked for us)
a tummy massage, gently in a clockwise direction on the tummy
cycling legs very gently

We used to have a day of crying, screaming and wriggling before the poo arrived, a huge poonami at about 3am

Remember, it takes a while for their little digestive systems to settle down and start working properly and (assuming tummy is checked by GP and all ok) it does get better as they get bigger.

DD is having similar issues (born 34 weeks now 40) - lots of writhing and grunting and crying trying to get a fart or poo out. She poos pretty regularly but it still seems to cause her lots of discomfort throughout the day and esp the night - so much that she only really sleeps when on me and warmly covered up.

I'm going to try Biogaia probiotic drops and see if they help - will report back.

We have started to have this too, especially in the evening when she seems to 'cluster poo'! minipie tell me about these drops?

They are probiotic drops - get lots of good reviews from what ive read, but they will only help if the baby's problem is due to imbalance n gut bacteria. Must confess we tried them once and haven't continued as she was sick that evening - but actually I think it's not connected to the drops so will restart. Also going to try Infacol as she does take in a lot of air when feeding and it's hard to get it all up.

thanks - i'll look at these :)

Have you tried Colief? It works for us but check with your pharmacist or doctors.