what can we do when 3 month old baby has a constipation problem?

by Shraddha
(Dapoli)

Question

My baby child is three months old and she is bottle feed. I use cow milk for her. But after some days she had started constipation problem and now some times little blood has passes while bowel. I consulted my pediatrician but he told me that this problem has taken some time to cure. I am worried of it. So pl. suggest something to overcome the problem.

Answer
Hi Shraddha,

I am not accustomed to infants drinking cow’s milk at such a young age- our physicians here stress breast milk or infant formula only and no cow’s milk until the age of 1 year. Then the type of cow’s milk we use is whole milk so the baby gets the proper amount of fat and nutrients each day.
For constipation… I have had success myself for my own children with giving them an extra bottle of water each day. But I urge you to ask your pediatrician if you could you try switching her to formula or breast milk. With the formula you may have to experiment with different kinds until you find the one that is best for softening her stools. We want your poor little baby to feel better! Thank you for the question and best of luck to you and your baby…

Julie