Constipation in Breastfed babies??

[mamaof2dancingdivas]

Hi Ladies!
Is it possible for a 3 week old whom is EBF to be constipated? Or do you think it is just gas? My friends little boy who is 3 weeks old, has'nt had a bm since last night and she says he is fussy and acting like he is grunting. Do you think this is constipation or do you think he is just having gas pain? I know it is normal for babies to go a couple of days without having a BM my DD is one of them, but I was just wondering what you ladies thought. Thanks, Mandi:hugegrin:

[StillSingingMom]

Constipation is almost impossible in EBF babies.

Not only is it normal for a baby to go a couple of days without pooping, it is okay for baby to go a week. Or two. And three weeks is not an emergency. Even a month is not unheard of.

He may be fussy. And he may have gas. But with nothing but breastmilk in the system, there is no reason to use a laxative. The only thing a laxative would do is force his system to pass out undigested milk, which baby would have used. Sometimes babies are growing so fast that they use up almost every drop of the milk.

[mamaof2dancingdivas]

Thank you so much this is what i was thinking, but I wanted to ask the experts...:hugegrin: Thank you so much!!!!!

[ima062002]

I think we need a bit more info before making the call that all is well. How is the baby's weight gain? Is bf'ing going well at this point? How often was he stooling before that and how many wet diapers is she seeing?

It's not unusual for babies to go days without pooping but three weeks is very young. It is very unusual for an exclusively breastfed baby to be constipated though. If the baby's tummy is rigid or distended or is he is crying in pain or is lethargic, she should call her pedi.

[StillSingingMom]

But fussy and grunting isn't an emergency. It's just fussy and grunting. Yes, certainly, a rigid tummy and pain cries always warrant a call to the pedi.

[mambera1]

Does this baby normally have multiple stools per day? My dd was only having 1 or 2 per day when she was a newborn... I figured that was just her physiology but it turned out it was a warning sign for low milk supply. :(

Apparently it's really abnormal for an ebf baby under a month old to have fewer than 4-5 stools per day. I think your friend should call the pedi.

[sherry]

Breastfed babies are rarely constipated as breast milk is almost 100% completely digested and utilized by baby's growing body. Breast milk leaves little "leftovers" to cause constipation. Many breastfed babies do have infrequent bowel movements however this does not mean that they are constipated.




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