Parents must be quite worried when their little ones are constipated because children will suffer from having hard stools and straining apart from buttock pain due to not being able to excrete every day. In the long run, children will suffer from flatulence owing to a lot of air in the stomach. They may often fart, have abdominal pain periodically, and eat less. Such symptoms affect children’s emotional health as they might feel scared of defecating. Some might eat less, hence resulting in physical growth.
Luckily, parents can solve this problem which starts when children are older than 6 months. During the period, babies usually try eating supplementary food which is light and does not have much fiber. Besides, babies might also drink less milk and water while sweating more, thus causing the body to lose water. The body, therefore, reabsorbs water from the intestines, making the stool harder.
Causes of constipation can be divided into two factors:
1. eating food that is low in fiber, such as eating fewer vegetables or fruits.
2. low water intake. Normally, babies should have at least 1 liter of liquid and milk every day. However, on a day babies sweat a lot, parents should let them drink more water in order to replace the amount of lost water.
How to prevent babies from constipation
1. Let them have high-fiber foods regularly.
2. Let them drink plenty of water daily.
3. Teach them how to excrete properly every day so that their stool does not become hard and difficult to excrete later.
Above all, 10 fruits and vegetables are recommended to prevent constipation:
1. Gourd is a green leafy vegetable that is high in fiber. It can be used to make food for the baby easily as it has a good taste and is not bitter. Parents can make stir-fried gourd or gourd soup with minced pork for children.
2. Cabbage is another type of vegetable that is popular to cook for the baby because it tastes good, is easy to eat, and helps in excretion, such as clear soup with tofu and cabbage or stir-fried cabbage.
3. Chinese morning glory is a green leafy vegetable that helps in excretion and nourishes the eyes, such as stir-fried Chinese morning glory or frittered Chinese morning glory.
4. Liang leaves is a green leafy vegetable high in iron and fiber. It is used to make a dish of stir-fried Liang leaves with eggs. Its delicious and mellow taste will certainly make children enjoy eating it.
5. Mung beans are rich in protein and contain fiber that helps in excretion, such as ground mung beans or boiled mung beans.
6. green apple is a fruit with good taste, and less sugar but is high in vitamin C and fiber that helps in excretion. It can be blended, mashed, steamed, or cut into small pieces for the baby to eat easily.
7. Mango is a Thai fruit that is very easy to find. You can eat both ripe and raw mangoes. It can be cut into small pieces, blended, or eaten fresh.
8. Kiwi is a fruit high in vitamin C and helps in excretion effectively. It can be crushed or blended so that babies can eat easily.
9. Guava is another high-fiber fruit that can be eaten raw or blended or made into smoothies as it is savory a lot.
10. Green grapes are fruits that are high in vitamin C and help with excretion. They can be cut into small pieces for the baby to eat, but parents must not let children have a whole bunch of grapes themselves because grape seeds may get stuck in children’s throats and make them choke.
A heartfelt thank for information provided by Piyarat ‘Ann’ Lertbannaphong, M.D.
New formula! BabyLove pants come with 9-hour absorption power* with Super Miracle Gel. Ideal for wearing day and night. The new pants have double-lock leg edges to effectively prevent leakage while maintaining adjustability with babies’ body movements.
* The duration of liquid absorption depends on the amount of urine of individual babies.
Crated At 03/01/2023
