Posts Tagged ‘baby constipation’
Using Baby Massage to Relieve Constipation
November 18th, 2008 | 
Author: Discover the true meaning behind infant constipation and how to use baby massage to alleviate your babe’s discomfort. While it is true that most breast-fed babies rarely suffer infant constipation, there are some that do and parents seeking some simple ‘hands on” techniques can be effective and pleasurable for your colicky baby before having to seek advice from a medical practitioner.
After a warm bath, with a teaspoon of epsom or himalayan salts from your local health food store, you can lay your baby gently on her back and with a little olive or almond oil on your fingers, you can trace a gentle clock-wise circle about 2-4 inches from her belly button with your fingers. You may not know it, but you are following the natural circuit of the large intestine and encouraging peristalsis (the squeezing action of the intestines) for the purpose of promoting elimination. Make sure baby is reacting favorably to this kind of stimulation as severe cramping or colic isn’t a normal reaction. If you are a visual learner, here is a great short video on infant massage to illustrate the technique with real live wriggling infants.
If you prefer to read more about this technique, have a look at this “How To Give Your Baby A Loving Infant Massage” by Diane Cuesta.
You can also enhance the effectiveness of the massage by adding a few drops of specially formulated essential oils to your massage oil. “Heal Baby Constipation” is specially formulated with 100% natural essential oils, extracted from plants. The formula is designed specifically for babies and children and is gentle, free from pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, and is completely organic.
The other baby massage technique that works well is the recumbent bicycle. While baby is on his back, you can take his legs and gently imitate the motion of riding a cosmic bike. This also acts to stimulate peristalsis in the same way that walking and movement helps us parents to stay regular. If, during the baby massage, you feel hard or knotty stool, or you don’t hear any gas bubbles when you put your ear to baby’s tummy, it may be a sign of an obstruction from too much stool built up and the next action would be a trip to your medical practitioner for the appropriate remedy or intervention.
Have fun with baby massage techniques on a regular basis, as this is a brilliant way to bond and connect with your infant. There are many benefits to massaging your baby. It stimulates growth-promoting hormones, and also increases the quantity of enzyme formation, which optimizes digestion. It can also improve a baby’s ability for deep sleep, which contributes to a more steady mood. A further study of the benefits of infant massage can by found in this “The Health Advantages Of Infant Massage” by Alex Hanson.Its never too early to get started and building in these health benefits way before your baby switches from breast to bottle or to solid foods, and that way she will be well primed before infant constipation ever becomes an issue.
Posted in infant constipation | 
Tags: baby constipation, baby massage, constipation cause, infant constipation | 
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Why does Switching to Formula Cause Infant Constipation?
Most new parents are surprised to find out that it is perfectly normal for their breast fed babe to only pass stool once every week or even two! You see, the waste matter from this natural source of optimum nutrition amounts to very little. Think about it, if you ate only liquids derived from organic material that was ideally suited for your exact nutritional needs, chances are you’d experience the same phenomenon. The most amazing thing is that Mom’s breast milk is changing constantly to meet the precise needs of her baby. For example, if you are able to examine colostrum (the milk elicited right after birth) you would see the globules of rich fat floating on the top just like butter heated in a pan. Mothers with premature babes will produce colostrum for weeks instead of days like Moms with full term babies.
As your baby grows and changes, Mom’s breast milk changes in its constituent forms in order to not only nourish the babe, but also provide a natural laxative, maintaining the softness of the food-stuffs moving through the intestines that is effectually emitted as stool. It is very rare to find a constipated babe who is breast fed. In fact, it almost never happens. However, if this natural process is impinged upon due to illness or other untoward factors, the intuitive nature of your baby’s food source can be inhibited.
Infant constipation causes can be due to molecules that are too tightly packed in the formula. Sources of whey protein from cow’s milk can be too large at the molecular level for baby to handle causing pain and constriction in the intestines as your babe tries to adjust. If you think about it, cow’s milk is designed to grow a 1,200 lb. animal and a baby under 20 lbs. can interpret this food as a shock to its immature system. In some cases goat’s milk can be more ideally suited as the baby goat kid is a little more on par with a human baby’s size and patterns of growth.
Finding optimum sources of nutrition, other than breast milk can be a challenge for sure. Not all components of a mom’s breast milk can be ideally sourced in order to reproduce nature’s perfect food for the infant. Antibodies destroyed in the pasteurization process of cow or goat’s milk, or formula, is not ideal for your babe. If you think about it, a wet nurse was employed over the last 5-6,000 years for a babe not able to be suckled at his own mom’s breast. Unfortunately, infant formula derived from a powder or can, does not even resonate at the same energetic frequency of around 8 Hertz as the milk derived from mom does. This can make infant formula a tough food for babe to absorb. Soy formulas have been found to cause harm and allergies in babes and toddlers. It is a badly sourced protein structure, derived from a cheap cash crop, that inhibits the complete uptake of oxygen to the cell, causing not only infant constipation, but also breathing issues like asthma or even pneumonia in the babe later on.
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Tags: baby constipation, infant constipation, newborn constipation |
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