Infant Milk Constipation
Constipation is a condition where stools become firmer and harder. Your child will be troubled or in pain when they need to empty their bowels, and the bowels will not be emptied as often as usual.
Milk and cheese can be very constipating for some people. You doctor is correct though, milk and dairy make important contributions to children’s diets because it is such a great source of easily digestible calcium and high quality protein. However, plenty of children grow up fine without dairy because they must avoid it due to allergies or lactose intolerance. What is important is to find suitable replacements. It may not be that your daughter needs to avoid dairy entirely.
There are three main types of baby milk - first milk, hungry baby milk and follow on milk. There are other kinds, like soy-based milks, but they are not relevant to this review. Both first milk and hungry baby milk can be given to a baby from birth, although you are advised that breast is best for baby and that formula should only be used on the advice of an independent doctor, midwife, health visitor, public health nurse, dietician or pharmacist.
A breast fed baby does not need extra fluids until he starts eating solid foods. Even then only small amounts are offered, more for the benefit of providing learning opportunities than for hydration. Additional fluids should not replace breast milk.
Breast fed babies are essentially never truly constipated. This is because breast milk is such a low residue diet. Almost all of the milk is absorbed by the baby and used. The stools consist of a small amount of unabsorbed protein curds and a large amount of bowel secretions, chiefly mucus. And of course a lot of noisy gas. But these infrequent stools do not indicate constipation - just infrequent stools.
The breastfed baby A breastfed baby will very rarely get constipation because the breast milk is more easily digested. Breastfed babies have several helpful types of bacteria in their large intestine that are capable of breaking down some of the otherwise indigestible proteins that are present in milk. As a result, the infant’s stools are softer, making bowel movements easier.
Keep in mind that babies who are exclusively breastfed very rarely get constipated. After having very frequent bowel movements during the first month or two, they then begin to go much less often. In fact, some breastfed babies only have bowel movements every week or two. In these children, as long as the bowel movement is watery or soft when they finally have it, then they are likely normal and not constipated.
