What if my 1-month-old baby is constipated and not pooping?
Let’s sort out when a 1-month-old really is constipated and when they are just straining to poop as a normal part of being a newborn. And if they really are constipated, what remedies are the best to try?
Mom’s Question:
What can I give my one-month-old baby to help with constipation?
Regards,
Latoya (Harare, Zimbabwe)
Symptoms and Remedies For 1-Month-Old Constipated Baby
Is My 1-Month-Old Baby Constipated?
The first thing to consider for such a young baby is if she really is constipated.
Is your baby breastfed or formula-fed?
If she is breastfed, she is not likely to be constipated; breastfed babies almost can’t produce any hard stools because breast milk is so easy to digest. At around one month old, babies usually start passing stools less frequently, so in such cases, it can be that your baby’s digestive system is simply maturing.
If your baby is formula-fed, the risk of constipation is higher. Unless you are sure that your baby really is constipated, you can review the symptoms of baby constipation here.
Some common signs of constipation in infants are (check the above link for more details):
- Your baby is pooping less often
- The stools are hard
- Your baby is fussy
- Your baby is straining without success
Rule out any illnesses
For how long has your baby had difficulties pooping? There could be medical reasons why a newborn baby is not pooping, and a pediatrician should address any suspicions of illness.
Constipation in infants and toddlers is common, and studies have found up to 3-30% of all children being constipated at some point. (Studies vary depending on age group and geography.) In most cases (97%, according to the study below by Vera Loening-Baucke), the constipation is functional rather than medical.
While functional constipation related to formula feeding is one of the most common reasons why a 1-month-old baby is not pooping, some medical reasons, such as Hirschsprung’s disease, cystic fibrosis, hypothyroidism, and botulism, do occur, and it is important to rule out medical reasons if constipation has been ongoing or there are other reasons to suspect illness.
Here are some reasons to check your baby’s pooping with a pediatrician:
- If your 1-month-old baby is not pooping and appears to be uncomfortable or in pain
- If your baby has not had a bowel movement for longer than a week or if they get constipated with hard stools more than once or twice
- If your newborn baby (under the age of 6 weeks) is not pooping at all or very rarely pooping
- If your baby is excessively fussy, spitting up more than usual, or having dramatically more or fewer bowel movements than before
- If your baby is not eating, has diarrhea, is vomiting, has a fever, or is sleeping more than usual
Constipation Remedies for a 1-Month-old Baby
Assuming that medical reasons for constipation have been ruled out, but your baby is truly constipated, you can try giving him or her a little bit of cooled boiled water, possibly also adding just a little bit of prune juice to the water. (Not much; start with a teaspoon in total.)
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), it is also fine to give a 1-month-old baby or older some apple or pear juice if they appear to be constipated. Both these types of juice are known to soften hard stools. The amount of juice you can give for constipation, according to AAP, is 1 ounce a day for every month of life up until the baby is four months old. So, in your case, 1 ounce should be fine.
Other gentle home remedies are a comfortable, warm bath or baby massage.
You’ll find many more remedies if you scroll down a bit in this post.
Prevent Constipation Going Forward
To prevent constipation going forward, make sure you don’t add too much formula powder when making the formula (don’t pack the scoop).
If the problems continue, you can try feeding your baby more frequently but with less formula every time.
If your baby is in great pain or doesn’t pass stools for several days, you should contact her doctor to ensure she is not ill. Also, it can be wise to discuss changing to another type or brand of formula, if your baby continues to have problems with constipation. Sometimes, babies need a formula that is easier to digest.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, if your baby is fully breastfed and has pooped more frequently before, she is not likely to be constipated but simply growing.
If she is formula-fed, she might be constipated, so in that case, check the posts I linked to for lots of help!
I hope this helps!
Paula
Read Next
- Bottle-fed Baby In Pain While Feeding And Dark Green Poop
- What To Give a Newborn Baby For Constipation?
- Baby Screams With Every Bowel Movement: 5 Reasons to Check
- Baby Not Pooping (But Peeing, Farting): Newborn to 6 Months
References:
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Infant Constipation
- Lotfollahzadeh S, Taherian M, Anand S. Hirschsprung Disease. [Updated 2023 Feb 4].
- Ho JMD, How CH. Chronic constipation in infants and children. Singapore Med J. 2020 Feb;61(2):63-68. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2020014.
- van den Berg MM, Benninga MA, Di Lorenzo C. Epidemiology of childhood constipation:a systematic review. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101:2401–9.
- Loening-Baucke V. Prevalence, symptoms and outcome of constipation in infants and toddlers. J Pediatr.2005;146:359–63.
- Allen P, Setya A, Lawrence VN. Pediatric Functional Constipation. [Updated 2022 Aug 19].
Paula Dennholt founded Easy Baby Life in 2006 and has been a passionate parenting and pregnancy writer since then. Her parenting approach and writing are based on studies in cognitive-behavioral models and therapy for children and her experience as a mother and stepmother. Life as a parent has convinced her of how crucial it is to put relationships before rules. She strongly believes in positive parenting and a science-based approach.
Paula cooperates with a team of pediatricians who assist in reviewing and writing articles.
Hi When our kids were babies and had a hard time pooping we gave them a teaspoon of Caro Syrup in their bottle of warm milk and shake it ! It is a white syrup you can buy in Safeway ! It works very well ! Babies have trouble when their milk is switched from formula to regular milk or from breast milk ! This really works and is safe !
Try a quip with some Vaseline. Tried this on my 5 week old yesterday because he hadn’t pooped in over a day. You.take the quip covered in excess with Vaseline and just pop it in the hinney and wiggle it around a bit and walah… Instant BM! Works every time!!
Our baby is 8 weeks old and does nothing all day but cry. I’ve seen her smile twice. She seems to spend most of her waking moments wanting comfort while she tries in vein to poo. She can go for up to 3 days without passing despite her valient effort to squeeze out whatever is blocking her up. She is on Actimal special anti-colic/constipation formula which has been of precious little use. Breastfeeding is not an option due to an operation my wife had to have. We’ve tried juice, massaging her, applying vaseline to her anus. We are pulling our hair, GP in out area are all quacks who do not value the life of females and are happy to dismiss us as bad parents. My next option is to walk into the Children’s Hospital and demand they tend to her. Or else.
Judging by number of comments on this subject says to me this is pretty normal?! Easy to over react especially if first child but my advice is not to fill them with medication so early on as it all weakens their immune system in long run.
I would advise you ask your Doctor to test for Hirschsprungz because my newborn son had those same problems. Lucky the dr tested and found this disease and he is now having frequent movements. I hope that this helps
Hi, my daughter is 7 weeks old n is fully breastfeed, she goes a week or more without a bm and gets very unsettles, i can tell she is in pain, my dr said to give her prune juce but still nothing, iv tried brown sugar, coloxyl drops, gripe water,tummy messages and bycicle legs still nothing, what else is there i can do?
Hi,
You might not want to hear this, but I really think you should do nothing, more or less. At her age and fully breastfed, pooping seldom is normal. There is no reason to try helping nature when nothing is wrong. But, while her being unsettled is also normal at her age, I do believe in helping young babies release gas, which is often a bigger problem. The tummy massage, which you already do, is great. Pressing her knees softly towards her little belly and shaking her gently side to side a little can also help. A warm bath, covering the tummy, also seems to help many young babies. In addition, for some, gripe water or being carried around and fed in a more upright position can also help. What else… Well, take a look at this article about what to eat while breastfeeding. It might give you a few ideas on foods to exclude from your own diet. You can also read about the infant colic remedies here since some of them might be useful even if your baby is not suffering from colic.
But above all, don’t worry if your baby doesn’t poop. It is normal, as is straining, grunting, and being unsettled at the age of 7 weeks. Their digestive system needs practicing, and I am not so sure that we are doing them a favor by trying to make them poop more often than what the body itself takes care of.
Hope this helps, Paula
Our daughter is one month and one day old. We did formulae feeding five days ago. It then took her 48 Hrs to poo and now it has been more than another 48 Hrs that she has not pooed…for the last five days we have been breastfeeding her… now she farts a lots with all legs and hand raised…however her poo doesn’t seem to make way out…how regularly does a one month old infant poo????
Hi George,
It does sound as if your baby got a bit constipated from the formula. Wonderful that you can switch over to breastfeeding since breast milk can’t make babies constipated. I think the gas is a sign that she will poop soon. You can try helping her with some tummy massage to speed up the process.
I wish you good luck!
Paula
It could be your baby is lactose intollerant! It can happen even with breast fed babys. If your still having problem you may want to try a soy formula that is lactose free. I went through the same with my son. Good luck :-)
My breastfed one-month-old has a very bloated belly and he squirms and cries in discomfort after each feeding..he pulls his legs up to his chest and after abit he usually gets his gas out..but there were no poops for 2 days..I took him to our Dr. yesterday & he told me to give him a bit diluted prune juice..(1 ounce) so I did 3 times throughout the day/night and he finally pooped, it was soft and huge..but he it was just that one…??..I breastfed my daughter as well and she pooped almost each time she ate…
My baby is only 1 month an he eats way to much he eats 8oz of formula every 3 hours
is that ok
My son is 4 months old and for the past 2 hours has been pushing and pushing I gave him some glycol medicine and it didn’t seem to help. he got feverish and I wanted to take him to the hospital but we wud have been in there for so long. so I was told to get karo syrup I have not tried it yet because he is sleeping. I hope he has a BM, but if not what do I do?? I’m so worried.
Anyone have any troubles with constipation using Isomil brand formula?
I’m worried bcuz my baby seems 2 have real pain with his bowels even farting hurts him i couldnt brest feed so he.Z on sma is there any other formula that could help him if not what do i do. He was crying for a good few hours today due 2 discomfort
This is my 3rd baby.My son is now 1 month and has the same fussiness and gas problems.He will strain and throw a fit when his tummy is in pain.If its been awhile since he’s pooped,I will coat the metal tip on the thermometer with a little bit of vaseline and insert it a little bit,while holding his legs up to his tummy.Usually has a poop within 5 minutes. Also, I put a little bit of Desitin on the outside to help lube his hinny,and it works.I’ve just started using a little bit of dark Karo syrup also in his bottles.And if your baby has gas,the doctor said its ok to give him mylacon gas drops before every feeding,because it does not absorb into their body,therefore going straight to their gut and passed through.Hope any of this helps,I am with the same worries and problems. Need more sleep!
My 1 month baby is not passing motion. I only breastfeed my daugther, but for some days now she found it hard to pass stool. What do I do?
Day before yesterday it happen and yesterday she was able to pass . But today again it happen? I am worried. please help me !!!
My baby got constipated when she was 2 weeks old she didn’t poop for three days so I called her Dr. and they told me to give her a bottle with 2ounces of water mixed with a tsp. of sugar. not even 2 hrs after drinking it she pooped!! now I use this all the time….but only do this once a day because excess water is not good for an infant it could lower their sodium levels…
Old mom, now Grandma here… Before you fret, try rubbing some Vaseline on their little bottom exit. My son just called me with his 1 month old constipated son…very worried as they had just switched formulas and no BM just lots of crying. The Vaseline worked good, and he had a BM shortly after. Hope it helps a bit.
My one month old son is breastfed & formula fed but he is always groaning as if he is in pain . He has’nt pass stool for a day so i gave him gripe water & it is still happening i then gave him laxitive drops he passes a little stool but he is still crying at times & muscle-ing up as if he is straining to do something & thats makes me very uncomfortable ,what should i do?
We did a formula bottle to help a billrubbin score of 9. After the second bottle we discovered skin rash due to a milk reaction so back on breast. No poop going on 48 hour. Waiting on doctor to call. Funny thing Babies not in any discomfort and keeps on feeding. Moms going to try a little prune juice herself.
Will keep you posted on results.
We did non-milk formula to lower bilirubin score, worked. She pooped after 3 days, doctors was not worried. all is well
My 1 month baby is constipated. What can I give him? He only poops once per day or not at all in one day… He pushes and pushes and I don’t know what to do.
MY BABY IS CONSTIPATED AND I AM BREASTFEEDING. SHE STRAINS AND IS IRRITABLE, YET BECOMES REALLY CRAMPY AND CRANKY AS SHE TRIES TO PRODUCE A BOWL MOVEMENT. DOCTORS HAVE RULED OUT SOME THINGS AND ARE GOING TO DO A BIOPSY, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?
Personally, I would take her to the hospital if she doesn’t have a bowel movement for a day. I think it would be too much build up and make the stool too hard. that could be very harmful so have her checked out by a doctor instead of taking so much advise. all the things u are doing may be affecting her more than making her better. so it’s better to hear it from an expert. I hope ur baby feel and gets better….
I’m a first-time mom. My baby eats lots, but that’s not the only reason. She wouldn’t stop crying, she is one month already. I tried whatever I could do, I gave her gripe water, Feeding her boiled water, and tried giving her bottle. I burp her really good. And later not even a minute after I burp her, she starts crying for a good 10 minutes, I try to stop her from crying. But i can’t! she keeps goin’ and goin’. I don’t know if she is constipated, and if she is, was is there to help her?? One more, she hasn’t had a good poop lately since yesterday. Her stomach is always hard…
How can u Help??
You can try various home remedies prior to giving laxatives. One of the best remedies that worked wonders for my baby is dark corn syrup. It made my little one’s stools soft and moist, so he did not have to strain much. I just mixed 1.25 ml of syrup with four ounces of formula milk, and next day he was relieved.
Please don’t ever attemp any unproven remedies to your kids. Some unproper remedies just won’t get thing right but in fact it’s just make your kids even worse! Last time, my nephew went in hosp because my sister went and gave him some unproper remedies for constipation.. Beware of those remedies! Better seek for medical advise
My children has less pooping compared to last week. Approximately 3 times per week and this consider is nor normal. Also,he recently feeling discomfort and irritated during a poop. He also complain to me that sometimes he feel pain before a poo. I was so worried and discuss with my parents. With all these symptoms that my parents confirm that he is facing constipation issue. My mum suggested me to switch formula milk that can help in prevent constipation so I am here to inquire about which brand of formula milk that can help in preventing constipation?
give him mamil. trust me. after few days or a week, his constipation prevented. i’ve used mamil before for my kid after she got constipated. after some remedies didn’t work, i’ve changed her milk. made some comparison of formula milk and i’ve found mamil was the best because it contained no sugar, high level of dha and good bacteria.