Question
My son hasn’t seemed to have a bowel movement for the past few days, and yesterday he passed a hard stool that looked like a sheep feces egg in size. Is it okay for infants to have constipation?
Answer
If your baby is breastfed, the constipation is often due to insufficient breast milk, which may not lead to weight gain and can cause crying and fussiness after meals. For this type of constipation, simply increasing the amount of breast milk can immediately alleviate the symptoms. Artificially fed infants are more prone to constipation. Therefore, attention should be paid to the method and proportion of formula preparation. It is recommended to give the baby some water between feedings. If it’s hot and the baby is sweating, more water should be added. For infants over 4-5 months old, it is appropriate to introduce complementary foods. It’s best to cut spinach, cabbage, vegetables, and bok choy into rice porridge, cook them together, and serve as various delicious porridge dishes for the baby.