#costipation

It is often difficult to understand what issues a newborn might be facing. Parents strive their best to decipher the coos and cries to understand the needs of their child. But parents can quickly decipher the pain and discomfort that a newborn suffers due to constipation. Seeing your newborn suffering from irregular bowel movements, passing hard tool, and suffering from severe colic as a result, can be extremely worrying.

Ensuring your newborn does not get constipated might be difficult, but it is not impossible. Once you know all about how the gut works and the importance of gut health to ensure your baby’s bowel movements, you will be able to keep this dreaded problem away.

Gut Health with Prebiotics

A healthy gut not only ensures that the food is properly digested, and nutrients absorbed, but it also houses 70%-80% of the body’s immune cells. It is also the space where gut bacteria thrive, which in turn helps ensure routine bowel movements and softer stools. The growth of this essential gut bacteria is fuelled by the presence of prebiotics, which serves as food for the beneficial gut bacteria.

Prebiotics are a type of fibre which are undigestible. As such, they travel the entire length of the gut all the way to the colon, stimulating the production of beneficial gut bacteria.

Role Prebiotics Play in Aiding Digestion

Prebiotics are important to ensure gut flora of good bacteria and other types of microorganisms that colonise the gut. These bacteria aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients and thus smoothen the entire digestive process. This is quintessential for proper bowel movements and to keep constipation away.

Fortunately, prebiotics are abundant in breastmilk which increases the chances of breastfed infants to have healthy gut function and hence, softer stools.

Helping a Constipated Newborn

If your baby is suffering from hard stools and reduce frequency of stools he/she may be suffering from constipation. You can consult your paediatrician if the problem persists. In the meantime, keep feeding breastmilk to your baby which ensure the continuous supply of prebiotics which helps better stool consistency.

Conclusion

One of the most common problems in newborn babies is colic as they have plenty of chances to swallow air like when they breastfeed, bottle feed, cry or even suck a pacifier. The air gets trapped in their belly and they feel bloated, get cranky, burp, cry, fart and you can feel a hard tummy. The other common tummy problems that cause discomfort to the kids are diarrhea, colic, digestion issues, constipation, infection, etc. However, as the baby’s digestive tract grows, the tummy problem becomes less of a problem.

Keeping a few things in mind can help soothe the tummy like:

Keep the baby’s head higher than her stomach while feeding him/her. Ensure there are no air bubbles in the nipple of the bottle in case you bottle feed. Use a nursing pillow for support.

Burp the baby during and after every feed as it helps ease the gastric pain.

Massage the baby's belly gently, cycling exercise by pumping her legs back and forth also helps in gastric pain.

Giving a warm bath works well to getting rid of the gas.

Feed your baby in regular intervals to avoid bloating.

Maintaining a healthy gut.

How to maintain a healthy gut:

Gut health and gastric problem go hand in hand. A healthy gut promotes immunity. So, developing a healthy gut is of foremost importance. Gastrointestinal infections are usually caused by a virus or bacteria resulting in an unhealthy gut. Breast milk is the richest in prebiotics (prebiotic oligosaccharide is the 3rd largest component of the breast milk) which play a very crucial role in gut health. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that have been shown to have properties that can help alleviate gastrointestinal problems and improve general health and wellbeing.

Following are the few proven benefits of prebiotics:

Reduces colic

Promotes softer stools

Increases solubility of minerals such as Calcium

Lowers instances of gastrointestinal infections

Decreases incidents of respiratory infection

Improves gut health

Various studies have proved that the scientifically-created prebiotics Galactooligosaccharides (GOS),Fructooligosaccharides(FOS), inulin, polydextrose also provide similar effects.

The first 1000 days in a child's life are crucial as this is the developmental phase and lays the foundation of the child's life. Hence the early age diet and nutrients are of vital importance. Prebiotics, abundantly found in breast milk ensures healthy bacteria to grow in the gut.

Post-birth, the child may face different problems that include diarrhea, inflammation, colic etc. but keeping the above-mentioned points in mind, we can help them grow happily.

The modern lifestyle has induced many health problems among people. The most common problem faced by people today is Constipation. It is a condition when a person becomes unable to pass stools and suffer severe bloating. Not only this, but there are also several other problems that come with constipation. Some major problems are:

Bad breath

Acne

Irritability

Piles

Mood swings

Headaches

Loss of appetite

Uncomfort

Dullness

Lack of enthusiasm

All these symptoms make the day very uncomfortable and irritating.

Causes of Constipation

According to Ayurvedic theory, the major cause of constipation is indigestion. Constipation results in an accretion of faces in intestines. Due to accumulation, data is produced in the stomach causing heaviness and pain in the stomach. But what are the major causes of indigestion?

Diet: Due to a busy lifestyle, most of the people binge on junk and processed food. Their diet lacks fibre, which is the major cause of constipation. If you remove processed food and fast food from your diet, it is sure that your bathroom trips will be happier in the future.

Insufficient intake of Water: The food in the intestines requires water for moving to its final destination that is the rectum. If we consume less water, it is sure that we will suffer from constipation. Make a habit to drink 7 to 8 glasses of water to avoid constipation. Drinking water is the best natural remedy to prevent it.

Less movement: Since most of us have jobs that require sitting for long hours, it is the most common reason why many people suffer from this problem. The only solution to this problem is to include exercise and walk in your daily routine. It is very important to pass the stool smoothly in the morning.

Ayurvedic Treatment of Constipation

There are many natural ways to treat constipation or to get relief from it. One of the very effective remedies to treat the problem with cow urine.

Cow urine is very effective in treating bloating and cramps caused by constipation. It helps to reduce inflammation and pain in the intestines. Cow urine consists of sodium, manganese, iron, silicon, nitrogen, sulfur, lactose, creatinine, enzymes, hormones, gold acids, and Vitamin A, B, C, D. That is why it is known as the powerhouse of nutrients and taking it empty stomach in the morning solves all the problems related to the stomach.

The cow urine fiber drastically improves the process of digestion. It helps in flushing out toxins from the body and solves the entire all the digestion related ailments. A person with good digestion has healthy hair, healthy skin, and a healthy mind. Therefore, cow urine can be called a single solution to many problems.

                            3 tips to cure your constipation

Being constipated means your bowel movements are  less often than normal. Almost everybody goes through it sooner or later.

Although it’s not usually serious, you’ll feel much better when your body is back on track.

Going longer than 3 or more days without one, though, is usually too long. After 3 days, the stool or feces become harder and more difficult to pass.

Let’s figure out some tips for constipation:

Drink two to four extra glasses of water a day, unless your doctor told you to limit fluids for another reason.

Try warm liquids, especially in the morning. Add fruits and vegetables to your diet. Have hot mung bean soup. Exercise regularly. Do something active for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

Have Lemon water daily. The citric acid in lemon juice acts as a stimulant to your digestive system and can help flush toxins from your body. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into a glass of water every morning, or add lemon to tea; you may find that the refreshingly tart water not only acts as a natural remedy to your constipation but also that it helps you drink more water each day, which will improve your long-term digestion.

Castor oil Remedy. This home remedy for constipation has been handed down for generations. One of the primary uses for castor oil is as a laxative; take 1 to 2 teaspoons on an empty stomach and you should see results in about 8 hours. A component in the oil breaks down into a substance that stimulates your large and small intestines.