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Maternal (Expert Forum)
Re: baby withholding stools
Patient medical question and answer from The Maternal and Child Health Forum. Health topic area and articles about newborn care
Re: baby withholding stools
by Cyndi__0, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By Cyndi on April 05, 1999 at 21:57:18:
In Reply to: baby withholding stools posted by cj on April 05, 1999 at 14:39:14:
My 15 month child has had a sluggish digestive system since he was a few months old and as he grew older he had problems with painful constipation and hard stools. I've managed to control it for the most part with diet. At one year of age, after an episode of constipation he started to with hold his stools. My doctor said to give him a lot of juice and keep the stools soft and eventually he won't be so afraid to "poop". His stools have been soft for a couple of months and he still holds on to them and screams when the urge comes. Will he just outgrow this or is there something else that I can do?
My son dealt with the same issues, but at an older age. He has always been a great eater of fruits, veggies, etc. and the gastroenterologist said that some children are "naturally" constipated, so, if this continues, try not to be hard on yourself if you know you are serving him well balanced meals. My doctor said that children often associate "the urge" with the pain of constipation. Your son feels this urge and it scares him because pain usually follows. After some time of not being constipated, he will forget the pain that used to occur and be o.k. Unfortunately, he is not old enough for you to explain this to him. We were able to tell our son that if he didn't go with the urge, things would get worse. Hang in there. I thought things were bad with our five year old, but I can imagine it would be much harder with such a young child. Fortunately, our other two children haven't had this problem. Good luck!
Cyndi
In Reply to: baby withholding stools posted by cj on April 05, 1999 at 14:39:14:
My 15 month child has had a sluggish digestive system since he was a few months old and as he grew older he had problems with painful constipation and hard stools. I've managed to control it for the most part with diet. At one year of age, after an episode of constipation he started to with hold his stools. My doctor said to give him a lot of juice and keep the stools soft and eventually he won't be so afraid to "poop". His stools have been soft for a couple of months and he still holds on to them and screams when the urge comes. Will he just outgrow this or is there something else that I can do?
My son dealt with the same issues, but at an older age. He has always been a great eater of fruits, veggies, etc. and the gastroenterologist said that some children are "naturally" constipated, so, if this continues, try not to be hard on yourself if you know you are serving him well balanced meals. My doctor said that children often associate "the urge" with the pain of constipation. Your son feels this urge and it scares him because pain usually follows. After some time of not being constipated, he will forget the pain that used to occur and be o.k. Unfortunately, he is not old enough for you to explain this to him. We were able to tell our son that if he didn't go with the urge, things would get worse. Hang in there. I thought things were bad with our five year old, but I can imagine it would be much harder with such a young child. Fortunately, our other two children haven't had this problem. Good luck!
Cyndi
