Mommy Medicine: Combating colic and constipation

SALT LAKE CITY — If you have ever had a baby with digestion problems, you know what absolute frustration it is to find a something that will help.

Colic and constipation are among the most common, most frustrating problems parents of newborns face … and it’s no fun for the baby either. Here are a few suggestions on how to ease baby’s pain and cries, so you can both find relief.

Colic

Let's start with colic. ColicCalm.com explains colic as pain a baby experiences when digestion of food is happening. It is usually manifested as intense, spasmodic cramping similar to when an adult has severe gas pains.

“It is hard for parents to know the precise cause of their distress and (they) grow frustrated at the lack of getting relief,” the article states.

Infantile colic is most common in the first few weeks and months of life, but it can happen through the first year.

Doctors often use the “Rule of Three” to diagnose colic: "A baby who cries for three or more hours per day, at least three times per week, within a three month period."

Treatment for colic

• The probiotic LGG
• Change formulas to soy based
• Gripe water. According to ColicEase.com, “gripe water for newborns is commonly used in all other parts of the world." Herbal remedies, such as gripe water, can help relieve the symptoms associated with baby colic, teething and baby's gas, the site states.
• Milacon drops before and after meals
• Keep your baby in motion following a meal
• Let someone else take over for a time. Babies can feel when you are anxious, and they react by becoming more anxious themselves. Also when parents are very frustrated with their children, that is when injuries — intentional or unintentional — happen. It is not a sign of failure as a parent to ask for relief or help. Failure is when a parent seeks no help and makes life for their children and family worse.
• In severe cases consult your doctor Constipation

Constipation is when the bowels absorb more fluid than they are supposed to and the stool becomes hard and painful to expel. This is becoming more and more common in today's world due to consecrated formulas, parents not supplementing formula with water once a day, and parents holding off on solid foods. A normal bowel movement for an infant should be the consistency of butter. If it is hard and looks like small rocks, an itervention needs to happen.

Ask Nurse Suzy

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Treatment for infantile constipation

• Prune juice once daily. Roughly an ounce of juice diluted by an ounce of water is a good measurement.
• Glycerin infant suppositories as needed. But check with your child’s physician before administering them.
• Rectal stimulation, using a thermometer coated with KY Jelly
• Change in formulas
• Increase intake of fluids other than formula. For example, one bottle of water or fruit juice per day.
• In severe cases consult your doctor

Colic and constipation are normal issues all parent deal with. It can become extremely frustrating, and parents often feel like failures when they cannot fix what is making their child uncomfortable or sick. Use common sense and seek help from family, friends, neighbors, or a babysitter before the frustration makes you do something which will permanently harm your child.

Suzanne Carlile, "Nurse Suzy," has been a nurse since 1982. Her main focus is critical care and nursing education. She holds a master's degree in nursing, is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and a member of NNSDO Intermountain West Chapter.

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