Question
My baby hasn’t had a bowel movement for four days, and is on mixed feeding, with both breast milk and formula milk, but the milk supply isn’t sufficient. The baby seems normal, not fussy, and seems to be more accepting of the formula milk today. However, the baby still tries to suckle at the breast, which makes me very worried. We have given the baby probiotics around 3 PM, but there has still been no bowel movement. What should I do? I am very anxious.
Answer
You can take some painless methods to alleviate your baby’s constipation issues. (1) Gently rub your baby’s abdomen with your palm, focusing on the navel and moving from left to right in a jumping motion. After 10 strokes, rest for 5 minutes and then stroke another 10 times, repeating this process 3 times. (2) Place your baby on their stomach and flex and extend their legs, doing this for 10 times and then alternating legs for another 10 times. (3) Apply an oily topical medication (such as Pencillium cream) to the baby’s anal opening, place a soft paper pad, and gently press on the anus, performing this slowly 10 times. Usually, this will quickly induce a bowel movement or defecation.