How To Get Rid Of Baby Constipation...Things That Really Work!

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the picture above says it all. For generations parents have had to worry about the problem of baby constipation. How will it affect my baby? Will it have long-term effects on my baby? What are the dangers involved? And ultimately, what can I do to get rid of baby constipation?

I'm going to answer all of the above questions. I'm also going to list some of the best things that you can do RIGHT NOW to help your baby deal with constipation. But I'm also going to reiterate a public warning about one of the best cures for baby constipation. Why?

Because there are millions and millions of babies born everyday in this big, beautiful world of ours. And sometimes the most important warnings get lost in translation. With the power and availability of the Internet, I want to make sure that this particular warning gets back out there in the forefront where it belongs! Please keep reading...

So, how exactly does a baby get constipation in the first place? Well believe it or not, there are three times in a baby's life that constipation will rear its ugly head.

1. When the baby is switched from breast milk to baby formula.

2. When the baby begins toilet training.

3. When the child begins kindergarten.

Out of the above, which one stands out to you? RIGHT, NUMBER ONE! As much as man tries and tries, there is no substitute for a mothers milk. Modern science can try to duplicate it. They can try to replicate it. All to no avail. There is simply no substitute for a mothers milk. The only problem is that the majority of mothers do not have the time to breast feed. Why?

All you have to do is look around you for the answer to that question. Many mothers are raising their children in single family homes where they have to work. Many mothers are career women where they have to work. There are mothers out there that can breast feed, but they are few and far between.

Does this make the rest of the mothers who can't bad mothers? No! In my eyes it's either breast feed and lose your job or don't breast feed and deal with baby constipation. To me it's a no-brainer. But some people may feel differently. I feel like this, if more men were to take care of their responsibility maybe we wouldn't have a bunch of mothers out here working and supporting their families. But that's another hub for another subject!

So...let's get right into it. How do you get rid of baby constipation? Well, there are several ways to do this. If you were to visit all of the various websites and webpages on the Internet on this subject, you would get a bunch of different solutions. These solutions would range from the tried and true methods of using juice to the kind of uncomfortable method of infant suppositories! But if you wanted to see a list of the most popular baby constipation cures, it would look something like this:

Use Juice

Add Water

Switch Baby Formula

Change Your Baby's Diet

Massage Your Baby's Stomach

Use Karo Syrup

The above list is the best way to get rid of baby constipation. But lets dig a little deeper and find out exactly what each method does to help your baby. Shall we?

Juice. Adding juice to your baby's bottle is a tried and true method for dealing with baby constipation. But you can't just add any juice. It has to be a juice that is high in fiber. Best juices to use: Prune, pear, apple, even grape juice,(white or regular), will do the trick.

Water - Just adding water is the perfect at home fix. The premise here is that more water in the bowels will get the "juices" flowing! ( No pun intended! LOL!)

Switching Baby's Formula - Sometimes just switching the baby's formula is all that is needed to help him/her deal with the discomfort. Did you know that humans are the only animals on Earth that feed our baby's other animal's milk?

Maybe the cows milk doesn't agree with your baby's stomach. If that's the case, consider switching the cows milk formula to a formula that is easier to digest. Such as a soy milk formula. The rule of thumb here, if it doesn't say "Soy" on the container, then it's probably cow's milk.

Changing your Baby's Diet - Changing your baby's diet is obviously for babies that are a little bit older and have been switched to eating table food. With this in mind it is important to note, ( like i said earlier...), that switching to table food is just one of the main reasons why some baby's develop constipation in the first place.

Changing your babies diet is simply a matter of changing him/her from eating food that could add to the constipation like bananas, rice cereal, applesauce and carrots to foods like the three "p's": Pears, peas and peaches. Once again, you'll see that foods in this group are high in fiber.

Massaging Your Baby's Tummy - Beginning at his/her belly button, press gently in a clockwise motion. There are added benefits to massaging your baby's tummy other than stimulating the bowels. Massaging your baby's tummy also allows you to check on the condition of the stomach. By gently pressing on the stomach you will know right away whether or not the stomach is hard,( Which is no good...), or soft. if it looks hard or puffed out, you should go see your doctor immediately! It might mean something else is going on!

Karo Syrup - Last but not least there is the wonder of Karo syrup. There is no doubt that this stuff does wonders for your baby's constipation. But there are a lot of mothers out there that are not heeding the warning that comes with using Karo syrup.

IF YOU USE KARO SYRUP ON AN INFANT YOUNGER THAN ONE YEAR OLD THERE IS A RISK OF BOTULISM!

There. I've said it! I feel a lot better now! What is botulism?

According to Wikipedia.com botulism is,"...a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum under anaerobic conditions." This illness paralyzes whoever it comes in contact with. In extreme cases, botulism can paralyze the respiratory system causing respiratory failure! Now why should you as a parent worry about this?

The bacteria C. botulinum which creates the toxin that causes botulism is found in honey. You might ask," Karo Syrup is not made of honey, it's corn syrup!" Corn syrup, like many other types of syrups, is NOT a sterile product. Because of this fact, there is a small chance that it may contain the C. botulinum spores.

These spores are naturally occurring in our environment. As a matter of fact, they live in the ground. So there is no escaping them. Also, as I noted above, if the food is not sterilized, there is a chance that is has the C. botulinum spores in it. Why is this bacteria so dangerous to babies under one?

To put it simply, newborn baby's do not have the defense mechanisms needed to fight the C. botulinum spores. If this bacteria is ingested by a baby, botulism is sure to come next! So why take that chance with your baby's health? Do me a favor. During that first year of your child's life, don't give them ANYTHING with honey in it! No honey, no Honey Nut Cheerios, no Karo syrup, none of that! Just to be on the safe side!

Last but not least I wanted to mention to you the best way to get rid of baby constipation that is often overlooked. GO SEE YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR! There is no substitute for the advice and expertise that your family doctor can give you!

I know, I know, there are a lot of people out there in the world that DO NOT have access to a family doctor. Heck, they don't have access to a doctor at all! I apologize for that fact to everyone reading this that is in that predicament. But if you live in the United States, YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE!

There are plenty of Family centers and clinics dotting this great country of ours. So you have no excuse to play with your baby's health. BEFORE you try ANY of the suggestions and "cures" on this page, I recommend that you at least go see a doctor to get his/her advice! Thanks for reading and good luck!