If your baby’s stool (poop) is not soft or easily passed, then they may be constipated. Most of the time, your baby is not really constipated. They may not have developed a routine for pooping yet. Some babies do not develop a bowel movement (BM) pattern for a while.

Constipation in Babies

An infant’s BM pattern can change if their diet changes, like switching from breastmilk to formula, starting solid foods, or drinking less formula than usual. In rare cases, constipation may be caused by a lack of nerves going to the intestines or by a problem with the way the intestine is formed at birth. Your baby can be tested for these conditions if your doctor feels it is needed.

Signs

• Fewer stools than their usual pattern.
• Straining more than normal to have a bowel movement.
• A change in how the stool looks from soft and mushy to small, hard pebbles, or like a large, Round golf ball.
• Loose and watery stools.
• Abdomen (belly) bloated or swollen with gas.
• Painful cramps.

Remedies

• If your baby is not eating baby food yet, you may give 1 to 2 ounces of 100% fruit juice (pear or apple) once a day. Stop the juice if their stools become too loose.
• If they are old enough to eat baby foods, feed them pureed pears, peaches, or apples instead of giving them juice.
• If your baby eats cereal, it may help to give oatmeal, wheat, or barley cereal. Rice cereal can cause constipation in some children.
• Sometimes giving your baby a warm bath to relax them or exercising their legs, like riding a bicycle, will help stimulate the bowels to move.
• If it has been a few days since your baby has pooped and the juice or pureed food has not worked, then you can try a glycerin suppository. Place your baby on their back. Gently push the suppository into their anus (bottom). Suppositories are meant for occasional use.
• Contact your baby’s doctor before giving them laxatives, baby mineral oil, or enemas to treat constipation.
• Check your child’s temperature using a digital, rectal thermometer. Put a small amount of petroleum jelly (Vaseline®) on its tip before inserting it into the rectum. Taking a rectal temperature may stimulate the baby to pass stool.

When should I see a doctor?

• Your baby is irritable and seems to be having stomach pain. Infants will pull their legs up to their stomachs and cry when they are in pain.
• Your baby has constipation and develops vomiting, and their belly looks like it is bloated or filled with gas.
• You see blood in their stool.
• Their constipation does not get better with treatment.