What to do about constipation in infants and toddlers

  Infant and toddler baby constipation, mainly caused by poor living and eating habits of habitual constipation, commonly due to the following causes: 1, mommy improper parenting methods. Baby defecation difficulties, mothers often abuse laxatives or take enemas, so that the intestinal bowel ability is weakened; suddenly change the baby’s diet and living habits, such as making him leave familiar relatives or environment, especially the defecation environment or conditions change; add new weaning food or weaning too quickly, the baby due to a moment of inadaptation and too nervous, which leads to constipation.  2, mommy usually did not pay attention to cultivate the good habit of regular bowel movements. This is the most common cause of constipation in babies, because under normal circumstances, when there is a sufficient amount of feces in the rectum, it can trigger the consciousness of defecation through the transmission of nerves. However, many babies do not defecate in time when the urge to defecate appears, often out of greed or other inconvenience, so that the sense of defecation is inhibited, and when the urge to defecate passes, they do not want to defecate. Over time, the defecation reflex is blunted, and later, even if the intestines are full of feces, they can not send a signal to defecate. Therefore, it is difficult for the baby to establish a regular defecation habits, and will also form a vicious circle, that is, not timely discharge of feces, because the water is absorbed by the intestines and constipation in the rectum, which leads to water is re-absorbed, feces thus become hard as a stone, more and more difficult to discharge, often cut the anus bleeding, the baby due to pain and avoid defecation, so that feces more and more difficult to discharge.  3, for the food eaten in the dietary fiber content is too little. Moms always give babies to eat fine rice and noodles, high protein food, and do not pay attention to the baby to eat vegetables, or the baby does not like to eat vegetables bad habits do not pay attention to. As a result, the dietary fiber content in the food is too little. The dietary fiber has a unique function in promoting bowel movement. Because it helps absorb water in the intestinal tract, so that after digestion of food with high water content, and, wheat or rice bran in the fiber can not be decomposed, can make the stool volume increased, soft, easier to discharge. Therefore, dietary fiber from wheat foods, cereals and vegetables is a very good laxative. On the contrary, dietary fiber content in food is too little to easily stimulate the defecation reflex of the nervous system, thus, the stool stays in the intestine for too long, the water in it is excessively absorbed by the intestine, coupled with insufficient water, eventually leading to dry, hard stool, thus difficult to discharge. In addition, babies who eat milk are more prone to constipation than those who eat breast milk because the calcium to phosphorus ratio is unreasonable and excessive calcium is difficult to be absorbed in the intestines, thus making the stools dry.