Does your child or baby often complain about a stomach ache? Does he/she have a reduced appetite? This could be due to constipation. Don't worry! It is quite common in young children and babies.

Symptoms

Is your baby irritable, bloated, or constantly wriggling? Does he/she cry a lot?
If so, your baby may be experiencing abdominal discomfort due to constipation.

The colour of stools is important to check. Generally, they are golden yellow, sometimes even greenish.

No stools? This should be due to constipation too.

Constipation in a child could manifest in: 

• Difficulty defecating;
• Pain;
• Hard and infrequent stools

Causes

A number of things could cause this:  

• Inexact ratio of powder to water in bottle;  
• Indigestion due to the introduction of solid food;
• Mother's diet if breastfeeding : does not drink enough water, overconsumes constipating food (e.g. Chocolate, banana, etc.)
• Stress, etc.

Diet

⇉ Recommended food 

To avoid constipation, it is recommended to eat certain foods that help the digestive process e.g. Sweet potato, cereals, prune, spinach, green vegetable, grapes, date, courgette, wholegrain rice, etc.. 

Plus, ensure that he/she stays hydrated enough (e.g. Water, or watered down prune/pear/apple juice) 

If constipation occurs, opt for raw vegetables and fruits rather than cooked ones, as cooking reduces a great quantity of their fibre.

⇉ Foods to avoid (if constipation occurs)

• Carrot
• Blueberry
• Processed food with a great quantity of sugar and fat 
• Red meat
• Starchy food (e.g. Bread, potato, rice), etc.

Do

⇉ Physical exercise 

For instance, you can get your baby to crawl, turn-over. Plus, encourage her/him to play with toys (e.g. suspended toys, playmat) which require leaning and turning. 

For your child, encourage daily physical activity. For example, sign up for an extracurricular activity, or walk to school instead of taking the bus or car. 

**Bonus

A warm bath can relax the abdominal muscles and facilitate the evacuation of stools.

**Goal

These physical exercises stimulate the digestive process and the colon.
Ideally, your child should practice at least 60 minutes of physical exercise per day. 

⇉ Massage techniques

To help relieve your baby's constipation, you can try to do a pedalling movement/bicycle movement. So, lay your baby on her/his back, and then, move her/his legs. Based on the reaction, adjust the rhythm. You can also, lay her/him on their back and with two fingers, softly massage the stomach in a clockwise direction, three to four times a day. 

For your child, use massage oil or hydrating lotion, and massage the stomach in a circular movement clockwise.

Extra

⇉ Things to avoid

• Do not use a thermometer to stimulate stools (at the risk of injuries),
• Do not give laxatives without medical advice,
• Do not limit dairy products without seeing a doctor,
• Do not use enemas

⇉ Establish a routine and hygiene habits

• Wash hands after using the toilet, 
• Encourage to go to the toilet regularly.