How to encourage Baby To Poop
How to help a baby poop (FAST): The 4 MOST EFFECTIVE tools to quickly relieve constipation in babies
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Baby constipation is a problem that I often treat at the clinic because almost every baby
will be constipated at some point.
However, the good news is that there are lots of great natural tools available to help a
baby poop and to even do it fast.
Yes, and in this video, we are gonna share with you the 4 most effective ones to quickly relieve
constipation in babies.
And as always, we are also going to tell you exactly how to apply them.
I am Nathalie, a pregnancy and birth consultant and TCM therapist and I am Mathias, a researcher
and science geek, and we love helping mommies and babies naturally and science-based.
For more useful tips and tools on pregnancy and baby-related topics, subscribe to our
channel and hit the bell so that you don’t miss any of our videos!
In my experience from treating my little cute patients at the clinic, the most effective way to help
a baby poop is a baby massage treatment. The advantage here is that it can be applied to
babies of all ages.
In other words, you can apply it, no matter, if your little one is a newborn or a toddler. Right!
Moreover, it usually works super fast and it has a relaxing effect too, so it could
even help your baby with a better night sleep.
Yes, so if you want to help your baby poop with a baby massage treatment, then you can
apply the following simple 5-step baby massage treatment.
It includes classic baby massage techniques and acupressure.
And it has helped many other babies already to quickly relieve constipation.
Here is what you need to do:
We start this baby massage treatment by stroking
around her belly button in a clockwise direction.
The purpose of this step is to stimulate the baby's colon.
That is why it is so important that you do this in a clockwise direction because this
is how the digestive waste is moving in the colon!
Do this for about 10 seconds!
And by the way, you can apply firm pressure!
Just don't overdo it!
Simply use your parental intuition!
Next, we are going to stimulate an acupressure point. That point is linked to the large intestine!
It is commonly used to help a baby with pain and to help move digestive waste.
So, first either take your baby's left or right hand!
Find the fold between your baby's thumb and index finger!
The point you're looking for is located on the flashy webbing, slightly above the end
of the fold!
Gently press and massage the point with either your thumb or index finger for about 10 seconds!
Once you're done with one side, do exactly the same on the other side!
In this next step, we simply bend the baby's knees and gently push her little legs towards
her abdomen!
That way we help the baby's body release gas or trapped wind as we say in London!
Repeat this movement at least 5 times!
Gently grab your baby's ankles! Then push one leg towards his abdomen while bending his
knee!
Then straighten the leg while you repeat the exact same movement with his other leg!
Repeat this bicycle movement a few times in a slow and relaxed way!
Finally, we are going to stimulate another acupressure point.
It is related to the spleen and thus commonly used to help improve a baby’s digestion
and to maintain a healthy digestive system.
So, first of all, slide with your finger from your baby’s big toe along the side of the
foot until you feel a bony prominence!
Right after the bony prominence there is a little depression.
The point you are looking for is located in that depression.
Gently press and massage the point with either your thumb or index finger for about 10 seconds.
Once you are done with one side, do exactly the same on the other side.
Alright, I think that treatment was straight forward and not too difficult to apply.
By the way, if you are looking for a baby massage treatment with an even stronger effect,
go for either reflexology or Shonishin.
Yes, reflexology is a baby foot massage which involves the stimulation of so-called reflexology points
to help balance the baby’s digestive system.
Shonishin on the other hand is a pediatric baby massage treatment which involves tapping
techniques, classic baby massage techniques and stroking techniques.
Both treatments are to be preferred if your baby’s digestive issues are an ongoing problem.
Don’t worry, both treatments are very, very easy to learn.
You can find more information on both treatments and how to apply them in the description below
this video.
By the way, if your are liking this video so far,
we would be super grateful if you could leave us a like
or even a comment in the comment section below!
Any feedback is more than appreciated, because it helps us enormously to improve our videos!
Right! Thanks so much!
Thanks a lot! Okay, the next tool to help a baby poop fast is a warm
bath. The reason why this simple home remedy can work so well, is because a warm bath can
relax the so-called anal sphincter muscles.
These are muscles at the end of the rectum. They surround the anus and control the release
of stools.
So, relaxing them can help the baby let things go!
Yes!
Please keep in mind though that the water temperature for babies should not exceed 95 to 98.6 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is between 35 to 37 degrees Celsius. Just buy a baby bath thermometer
or something like that.
They are not expensive, and they give you full control over the temperature
of your baby’s bath.
Okay, another great way to help a baby poop fast are baby constipation foods . “Baby
constipation foods” are foods which can work really really well to relieve
constipation in babies.
However, there are two problems: First of all, you can obviously only feed your baby
constipation foods if you have introduced solids already.
Yes, the other thing is, the most effective foods that can help a baby poop
usually contain lots of sugar.
And the problem with that is that they will almost always cause other gastrointestinal
issues,
like bloating, trapped gas, tummy aches, to name a few.
So, you would basically replace one problem by another problem.
Yeah! Let us give you an example: some websites promote dried dates to help a baby with constipation.
And I mean, I am pretty sure that dried dates would help your baby poop more or less straight away.
What they don’t tell you though is that 100 grams of dried dates can contain up to
68 grams of sugar. That’s 17 sugar cubes.
I mean, sure, your baby won’t eat a full 100 grams of dates, right?
However, it can still be enough sugar to throw your baby’s digestion completely off balance.
Right, so if you want to help your baby poop with baby constipation foods, you need to
consider your baby’s age and feed your baby foods which are appropriate given your baby’s
age. Right!
So, for babies up to 8 months of age, sweet potato and papaya usually work really well!
The same applies to pears, although pears do contain quite some sugar.
But that amount of sugar is okay, as long as you limit the amount of pear that you feed
your baby and as long as it is only the exception.
Once your baby is 8 months old, you can add beets and cabbage to the list!
Both can work really well for baby constipation and are definitely to be preferred over fruits,
because they contain less sugar.
From 10 months onwards, you can add vegetables like kale, broccoli and beans to the list!
Keep in mind that kidney beans, black-eyed peas and Aduki beans are to be favored over
other beans.
When your baby is at least 12 months of age, you may add chia seeds and even prunes to
the list of great constipation foods.
Yes, prunes do contain quite some sugar, but now that your baby is at least 12 months of age,
they won’t do that much harm, as long as you limit the number of prunes that you feed your baby!
By the way, if you want to know more about which foods can relieve constipation in babies
and also, how to prepare them, check out the links that we have posted in the description
of this video!
We have also added some great recipes for baby constipation foods subject to your baby’s
age of course. Right!
Okay and finally, another great way to help a baby poop fast is fruit juice. Now, the
reason why we have included fruit juice in our list of natural remedies to relieve constipation
in babies quickly is because fruit juice can work really really fast.
However, it is definitely the least preferred way to relieve constipation in babies.
Yeah! And here is why: Fruit juice will almost always trigger other gastrointestinal issues because
it contains LOTS of sugar, way more than fruits do.
For example, if you feed your baby a whole pear it is not the same as letting your baby
drink pear juice, because the drink contains the juice of several pears, not just one.
As a result, fruit juice contains the sugar of several pears.
In fact, the high amount of sugar contained in fruit juice is the very reason why the American
Academy of Pediatrics does NOT recommend introducing fruit juices into the diet of babies who are
younger than 12 months of age. At that age, your baby’s body will not be able to absorb
the high amounts of sugar contained in fruit juice.
So, if you go ahead and offer your baby such sugary drinks, it could cause what scientists
call “carbohydrate malabsorption”, which can cause digestive issues, like bloating,
stomachache and the likes, and even chronic diarrhea according to scientists.
Therefore, it is not advisable to offer your baby fruit juice as long as your baby is younger
than 12 months of age.
If, on the other hand, your baby is older than 12 months of age, your baby may have
some fruit juice for constipation relief.
Nevertheless, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting the amount to 4 ounces
per day, which is about 120 milliliters.
And yes, pear and prune juice usually work particularly well when it comes to constipation.
Right! So again,
we recommend that you try a baby massage treatment first because it can be applied at all ages
and it will almost always do the job if you apply it correctly.
If you like, you can also combine it with a warm bath, which, by the way, is also
a great bedtime routine, right?
And then finally, if these things don’t work, try baby constipation foods or even
fruit juice if your baby is old enough.
Thanks so much for watching!
We hope that our video has helped you relieve your baby’s constipation.
And if you don’t mind, leave us a feedback in the comment section below or simply like and
share our video if you have found it helpful!
We really appreciate each and every one of your reactions, because your feedback
helps us a lot to improve our videos!
And for more useful tips and tools on pregnancy and baby-related topics, make sure to subscribe
to our channel and to hit the bell.
