A definitive guide to the causes of baby constipation and natural approaches for resolving it whether your child is breastfed, formula-fed, or already eating solids.
Baby constipation should always be cause for parental concern. Some doctors prefer to chalk up baby bowel movements as within normal parameters even if they are as infrequent as once a week. However, a more holistically minded practitioner understands the critical importance of gut balance and bowel regularity. Such a doctor would likely come to a far different assessment of the situation. It pays to get a second opinion!
While there is certainly room for individual variation in the bowel habits of babies, once every two days should be considered a minimum by those parents who seek to ensure that their child’s digestive tract is functioning optimally.
What if your baby is obviously constipated and you do not wish to utilize any medications? These would include an infant suppository, which should only be used as a last resort anyway. What natural approaches could prove helpful to relieving the situation?
Baby Constipation Usually Linked to Commercial Formula
Most of the time, baby constipation can be traced to one of the many brands of commercial formula. This would include organic formula. It’s no surprise that babies fed commercial formula can tend toward constipation due to the worrisome, indigestible ingredients.
Commercial milk-based baby formulas are, simply put, dangerous concoctions of denatured milk proteins and rancid, cheap, usually GMO vegetable oils. They do a number on a baby’s digestive system. Even the organic formulas are not a wise choice as violent processing is similar even if the ingredients are not as toxic.
Hypoallergenic formulas are even worse as they contain an endocrine-disrupting quantity of soy isoflavones. These phytoestrogens have the very real potential to damage your child’s delicate and developing hormonal system.
The good news is that it is possible to make a nourishing formula for your baby yourself at home with quality ingredients that you source yourself.
If you’ve never considered this option before, this article plus video shows you exactly how to make homemade formula and explains why you should consider doing it.
In a good share of cases, the simple act of switching baby off commercial formulas and onto a nourishing and much more digestible homemade formula will resolve the constipation issue.
Difficulty Passing Stools if Using Homemade Formula
What if baby is still struggling to have bowel movements at least once every two days even while on the homemade formula?
Consider the following ten options that a parent can implement at his/her discretion in that situation:
- Baby constipation is more frequent with the homemade goat milk formula than the cows milk formula. This is possibly because goat milk is low in B12. If you are using goat milk to make the homemade formula, switch to cow milk or camel milk and see if the situation improves.
- Substitute homemade kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk made with raw milk instead of the plain whole milk portion of the recipe. Â
- Add a few additional tablespoons of cream to each 36-ounce batch.
- Reduce the amount of water in each batch of formula by 1/4 cup.
- Increase the amount of liquid whey in each batch to 1/2 cup.
- Increase the bifidobacterium infantis, the recommended probiotic in the homemade formula, from 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp per batch.
- Coconut oil helps loosen things in some cases so increasing from 2 tsp to 1 Tbl per batch of homemade formula may prove helpful. Â
- Add 1 tsp of dark molasses to each batch of homemade formula. Do not substitute dark karo syrup.
- Give baby a little prune juice in a bottle.
- Give the baby Digestive Tea in a bottle. Â To make Digestive Tea, a folk remedy for treating constipation/gas in babies, take 2 cups fresh anise leaves and 2 cups fresh mint leaves. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour over the herbs. Let steep until the water cools. Strain. Give tepid tea in a bottle to the baby, 4 ounces at a time (recipe from Nourishing Traditions, Chapter on Feeding Babies).
Watch the Finger Foods
One final suggestion is to avoid feeding baby any grain-based foods in the first year of life. Amylase, the enzyme necessary to digest carbohydrates, is produced in only small amounts by a baby’s digestive system before age one. Following a conventional doctor’s advice to put rice cereal in a baby bottle (to encourage the child to sleep through the night) or feeding the child rice cereal as a first food is incredibly misguided.
Moreover, it is a potential disaster for a baby’s developing gut environment. Even Health Canada recommends meat as a baby first food over grains! This is in line with the practice of healthy ancestral cultures.
Also, if the baby is eating any refined grains such as Cheerios, teething biscuits, etc (many Moms start these foods as soon as the child is sitting unassisted around 6 months) these should be stopped immediately. Refined foods contribute to gut imbalance and perhaps constipation. No bread rolls or salad crackers for baby to chew on while in a high chair at a restaurant either!
If you are looking for an ideal early food, gelatin from homemade bone broths is incredibly soothing to a baby’s digestive tract. It is very nourishing too as opposed to those indigestible grain-based foods. Frequent gelatin in the diet goes a long way toward helping to resolve constipation issues. It can be mashed with cooked veggies for easy eating. This article plus video illustrates another ideal first food for baby that encourages proper development and balance of the gut.
Can Breastfeeding Babies Get Constipated?
As little as ten to fifteen years ago, it was almost unheard of for a breastfed baby to be constipated.  In fact, the baby books at that time almost universally stated that breastfed babies don’t get constipated!
Nowadays, this situation is becoming more commonplace. The continuing decline in the quality of the diet of nursing mothers is a likely reason.
While it is an unpopular position within the breastfeeding community, the diet of the mother clearly impacts the quality of her breastmilk. Fats, vitamins and minerals in breastmilk vary considerably based on the mother’s diet although protein and immunoglobulins do not. Studies such as the Chinese Breastmilk Study confirm this.
Suggesting that a lactating mother can eat whatever she wants and still produce quality breastmilk is also irresponsible. It defies all common sense and historical study of healthy traditional cultures. These ancestral societies wisely put great emphasis on the quality of nursing mothers’ diet.
Generally speaking, baby constipation in a child that is breastfed is directly related to a mother’s gut dysbiosis issues. This means that she suffers from an imbalanced gut and likely exhibits symptoms like constipation, gas, reflux, bloating, heartburn, IBS, or ulcerative colitis. Chronic skin issues like eczema or psoriasis may also be present. Usually, such a mother took the contraceptive Pill, which is highly destructive to the gut environment.
While the best way to remedy gut dysbiosis is, hands down, the GAPS Diet, this protocol is not recommended during either pregnancy or lactation. This is due to the pathogen die-off that occurs from resolving gut imbalance issues. The toxins from this healing process could end up in the breastmilk.
Fixing a Breastfeeding Mom’s Diet
How to remedy a nursing mother’s gut issues without the GAPS Diet and help her constipated baby?  There isn’t an easy answer to this question. No doubt, getting off all processed foods and eating a minimal amount of grain-based carbohydrates that are traditionally prepared would likely help tremendously. Going completely off grains per GAPS is not a good idea, however. Grains, particularly soaked cereal gruels, are known historically to encourage ample milk supply. As a result, continuing to eat them in moderation is wise during lactation.
Elimination of pasteurized dairy and processed wheat is a good first step if you are a breastfeeding mother with a constipated baby. When I nursed my youngest child, she would spit up for an entire day and sometimes two if I ate any processed wheat. Even a single bite from a roll at a restaurant sent her over the edge. The wheat I carefully prepared at home with fresh flour that was either soaked or sprouted did not give her any issues at all, however. Similarly, my firstborn had terrible infant gas and digestive problems when I consumed organic ultrapasteurized milk. This is a very allergenic food due to the denatured proteins from the obscenely high heat processing.
The bottom line is that if you are breastfeeding and have a constipated baby, look to improve your diet first. You will likely find your baby will have easier digestion and greater ease passing stools right away. And, once you wean, consider the GAPS Diet as a way to heal your gut once and for all. Then, your next baby won’t have the same digestive issues when breastfeeding.
More Information
Squatty Potty For America’s Toilet Issues?
Chiropractic for Constipation
Five Strategies to Combat Constipation
Hi Sarah, love the post, very timely. My 8 month old was solely breast-fed until 6-7 months and has always been regular, but even after introducing some Nourishing Traditions type-food, his digestion occasionally slows down. I have found that adding pears, prunes, peas, peaches (the “P” foods) help regulate him, and I’ve been adding baby probiotics to his food as well. However, he still spits up quite a bit. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable, but it’s a symptom I thought would go away as he aged and his “open gut” closed up (around 6 months or when he started sitting unassisted). I’m not sure how to remedy this or if it’s “silent reflux” as he also tends to sleep better at an incline. If he truly does have some reflux issues, I’d love insight on how to naturally remedy that through diet.
Also, if you need to avoid a food while you’re breastfeeding because it bothers your baby, does that mean YOU have the gut problem, or they do? If they do, would considering GAPS when the baby is a little bit older and handling some solid food better (and there’s less chance you’d detox through your breast milk) be helpful? I think the GAPS while nursing can be a murky issue for some moms…but I have read many websites where it says it is okay if you do it slowly and try full GAPS diet first.
Hi Megan. I have 3 kids and suffered blocked milk ducts with each baby (2nd one I had a stage where it was twice a week for a month – IT WAS NOT FUN!). My 3rd baby I noticed he would spit up (after 6 months age) after breastfeeding if I was starting to get a blocked milk duct. I didn’t feel any lump but felt a slight tingly pain which I knew was the start of one. I have now figured out by taking aged garlic capsules and lots of vit C (plus avoiding processed sugar) it clears out any slight infection the breast maybe brewing. When you have an infection, the milk can be thicker.
Hi, thanks for the comment. I definitely struggled with mastitis and blocked ducts with my first, but I haven’t had it with this baby. Are you able to manually work out the ducts through massage as well? I have kyolic garlic pills and even Vitamin C pills, but did you add the vitamin C naturally through foods? Thanks.
When I was pregnant with my 3rd, I shared my breastfeeding concerns with my midwife. She told me that every baby is different. Some are lazy feeders and others are vaccums. Fortunately for me, my 3rd (first son) was a vaccum feeder (he was his birth weight by day 3). Your 2nd maybe an efficient feeder but you might have something still lurking in the breast. When I had constant blocked milk ducts, I was tested for thrush and it came back negative. The specialist was mystified as to why I was having it reoccuring.
Yes I would use massage or different positioning to unblock a milk duct.
Kyolic garlic pills were the ones I took and yes I did try to eat as much Vit C naturally through foods as well.
I am still breastfeeding my daughter who will be one in Sept. I haven’t been able to find raw milk around here. When she weans do you have any suggesstions on what type of milk to try. Should I use coconut milk?
Also, I watched your video on Green Pastures about getting down the Cod liver oil. How should I give it to my daughter who isn’t one yet and should I buy it flavored?
Thanks for all of your awesome posts!
I eat a traditional and mostly GAPS diet, and my six month old usually has a bowel movement only every four days. This started after probably month two. He doesn’t show any signs of constipation though. Doesn’t seem to make him fussy. I haven’t worried about it much but I’m watching him carefully as I add solids. I’m also under the impression that this is normal for a breastfed baby, but I haven’t looked in to it in much depth.
Also, it’s very possible to do GAPS and have an abundant milk supply – I’ve done it with two EBF babies!
When my kids were babies I used warm chamomile tea.
yup that is our friend too.and 2 to 3 oz water everyday. she still goes as long as 6 days apart but is happy girl.
Hi there,
Starting at 6 weeks, my solely breastfed baby did not have a bowel movement for three weeks and counting! I had health issues before having him but had found the Weston Price Foundation through a friend and had followed a strict diet during the pregnancy. I have been through hell-too exhausting to even go through the details. Long story short, I gave him magnesium to get him to go every 4-5 days because I knew in our situation prune juice would make things worse, and I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to tolerate even the homemade formulas (another long story) , until he started solids…I put both of us on Gaps and when he started solids the key for us was to sprinkle Baby Biotic in all of his food (before he started solids I pumped one bottle a day and put in in there), and never give him anything to eat without a probiotic food like kefir, yogurt, or fermented veggie juice added. The key for us especially are the fermented veggies (I order from Caldwell’s). He is now 16 months and doing well-we are still nursing along with eating gaps foods and he has a bowel movement every day. I worry how he will do after he is weaned, but I am thankful I have tools in place to help us through and God has led us to what true nutrition looks like.
Thanks Sarah for this article and for being a voice of truth.
The GAPS diet is absolutely recommended for pregnant & lactating mothers! It is a very nutrient dense, healthy diet and benefits both mother and baby. The introduction phase of the diet is not recommended however as it is very limited.
Many mothers have continued to breastfeed while on the GAPS diet and like myself, have not experienced any issues with supply.
I wanted to say the same thing!! You can follow GAPS while pregnant and lactating. I switched to GAPS when my son was almost 1 and I’m still breastfeeding him at 2.5. There might be some cases where you simply cannot do GAPS while pregnant/lactating but I have not heard of one yet…
Also with the intro phase of GAPS you can experience extreme dieoff and you can detox into the milk so it’s not recommended to do intro while pregnant/breastfeeding. Full GAPS diet is fine.
Happy to say neither of my babies experienced constipation (both were BF: first one till age 3, second one still going at 2.5). Glad you posted this Sarah!! I hope it helps other moms…
my Greek pediatrician used to prescribe MaltSupex if I am spelling it right.
I was disappointed at all the advice given for formula fed babies and then very little for breastfed. There was only one time I was really getting worried about how long it had been since my breast-fed baby pooped but she was old enough to chew on some prunes and that seemed to help. I guess I would have liked the article if some of the advice you gave to homemade formula babies was applied to breastfed too instead of solely focusing on the mother’s diet. As you said, there is a limited amount of things a breastfeeding mom can do since GAPS is not an option and we don’t always have the time or money to eat perfectly. So some helpful suggestions of things we could eat to help the baby would have been nice.
For all my new mom friends this is a good site and thought of you guys with this last post… Allison Courtney Meghan Bozzelli Lea Holland Tracy Roarty Green Karie-Lynn Goryl Bannin xoxo love you guys
I believe the definition of constipation needs clarification.
Side note, you may not be as healthy as you might think. I was breastfeeding, eating a serioulsy traditional GAPS diet( to the point of ridicule from my friends and family) through pregnancy and postpartum taking a probiotic and FCLO supplementing with the Nourishing traditions formula- I even did alot of the things that Sarah mentioned. I cultured the milk increased the coconut oil etc. Despite my best efforts, my son developed horrible eczema, REAL constipation, and he was MISERABLE and I still had all kinds of my own ailments. At my wits end, I too both of us to see a traditional naturopath and found out how what was really going on inside me and him. I would like to say how much better we all are now and that sometimes if you’ve suffered from gut dysbiosis for a long time the shotgun, try it at home, method isnt enough.
Lauren, could you share some info on the underlying issues your naturopath helped to identify?
And just a general comment that gut dysbiosis can be triggered and exacerbated by so many factors both dietary and non-dietary — some non-dietary factors include antibiotics, pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drugs, birth control pills, mercury fillings, fluoride, vaccine ingredients, exposure to other toxins, low stomach acid, etc.
This article was very timely for me. A friend of mine just asked me about her breastfeeding son’s constipation, and over the course of talking about it, we came to the conclusion that the cause of her baby’s problems was the antibiotics that the hospital insisted on giving her at the time of his birth because she didn’t have proof of being immune to _____________. I can’t think of the name of the thing, but I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about. As I recall, Sarah did a blog post on that very problem (of having the hospital demand that a woman take antibiotics for this condition) … maybe it was strep-B? Anyway, after concluding this, she added probiotics to her diet and her son’s diet, and things immediately started to improve.