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
I get constipated when I travel and I noticed my son is the same. On days that I’m driving around with errands he will get constipated. But Sarah, my nephew has had constipation issues since birth, he was breast feed till 10 months. His doctor has him drinking 2% milk diluted with water BC he said fat in the milk is the douce of constipation! I tried to tell my sister in law it was probably all the baby puff cereal he eats. It breaks my heart to hear the doctor giving such advice because babies need plenty off fat!
Dear Sarah, thank you so much for writing about this!
I have had some serious digestive trouble since giving birth, and have needed to come off all grains and dairy and soy in order to be able to digest anything at all, or even keep it down. I noticed that around the time I cut out both grain and dairy, the fatty deposits in my baby’s stool disappeared. Searching online at the time gave me no answers, people just said that it was fine, nothing to worry about, nothing you could do. I hate that advice passionately. It is completely defeatist and harmful. I know now that it is something missing in my diet, but I cannot figure out what.
About a month or two ago I noticed my milk supply was not as ample as it once was. Since then it has steadily declined, despite my efforts to include liver, homemade chicken stock that had a ton of gelatin in it, pastured eggs, more veggies and fenugreek. My digestive upsets have also continued to the point of throwing up from 9pm to 2am last Saturday night. I am of course seeing doctors and have an appointment with a specialist, but I am not expecting any advice regarding breastfeeding.
For the longest time, about 4 months now since we started some solids at 4 months and she is now 8 months, our baby girl has had trouble digesting any solid food. We have tried all kinds of ways of preparing food for her, but I know that she is having trouble due to the lack of good digestion in my own body. I have searched and searched but cannot find any help on this – WAPF recommends grains and milk, but if I eat that I throw up! My baby girl cannot tolerate them either – when I cut them out of my diet her stool stopped being green, frothy and occasionally bloody, and was much much happier without them. She is thankfully FINALLY able to mostly digest things like egg yolk, avocado, banana and chicken. We have only recently found a safe source of liver, so have yet to try her on that.
I am in the process of trying to find a whole foods supplement and probiotic and digestive enzyme, but ANY advice you could give would be so much appreciated! I am taking the green pastures cod liver oil and butter blend currently as their butter oil is sold out, and eating the WAPF recommended amount of coconut oil for pregnant and lactating mothers. The GAPS diet is the only thing keeping me out of the hospital right now, but I want to give my baby the best too. How do I do both?
I highly recommend the nursing mom to increase her water intake. I think as new moms we tend to not drink enough water and drink too much caffeine!
Ok, I’d like to ask a random question. I have started making bone broths recently and use my pressure cooker to make them. What’s making me uncomfortable is, if I cook the bones for say 60 min in the pressure cooker which is how long it takes to get all the good stuff out, could I also be denaturalizing the meat if I choose to put some chicken legs there as well? Or should I add them once the broth is done? It’s more of a hassle this way.
Thanks
my ?, I have search for the answer but don’t find it anywhere, is If pasturizing, which is high quick heat’ is bad then isn’t presurer cooking. My canning book the only source of info i did find says it kills emsines and all life??????? how about actical on that. and maybe Liza who uses one knows answer to my ?.?????????
Have had our adopted son on the homemade formula since we brought him home from the hospital. Some suggested a little maple syrup in each batch. I generally add 1 tsp. maple and 1 tsp molasses to each batch.
This may be a little off topic, but I was quite discouraged to learn that he was low on iron at around 6 mos. I increased his egg yolk consumption (w/ added desiccated beef liver), gave homeopathic cell salts, and added more blackstrap molasses to his formula. I was shocked to learn 6 weeks later that his iron was even lower!
Sarah, please let me know if anything comes to mind. Are you aware of any condition(s) that interferes with iron absorption?
He is 8 mos. and is on a completely grain free diet. In addition to egg yolk, he eats mashed avocado w/ sea salt, mashed banana w/ homemade whipped cream or yogurt, and some other occasional fruits and veggies.
Jessica – Sometimes… and this is only SOMETIMES… low iron that isn’t resolving indicates that there’s some pathogenic bacteria in the gut that’s gobbling it up. Certain bacteria thrive on iron. Dr Campbell-McBride talks about this in her GAPS book. So this might be an area worth exploring with your little one.
Jessica,
Did the pediatrician actually say his iron was low or did he say he was anemic? I ask because not all anemia is caused by low iron levels. It is a very complex topic. You might want to read/listen to this Revolution Health Radio talk given by Chris Kresser. The section on anemia begins at 48:52 (“Everything you need to know about Anemia (and more)”).
I think your observation about your child spitting up all day is very interesting. I had a baby 10 years ago who did the same and my instinct told me something wasn’t right while his pediatrician thought nothing of it. I had no idea about soaking grains or about ultrapasturized milk at that time and so I just had a very difficult time taking care of my baby while he was spitting up and probably dealing with serious gut issues. At that time, I could not access any information that stated anything other than eat whatever you want while breastfeeding as eliminating foods could do more harm than good. It is so wonderful that people like you are researching and informing….
Hi Sarah,
I love your site and have learned a lot from you. I’m excited about what I feed my family now. Thank you!
My concern is with my 4th child who is now 3 yrs old, I would love to hear some feedback on the issue. We have been dealing with constipation issues since he was a few months old. He was breastfed until about a yr, then put on raw cows milk. I have been making kefir & kombucha for a few months now and I’m getting started on fermented vegetables. We’ve tried all sorts of remedies – mostly natural, including Chiropractic adjustments. I try to make sure he has enough water, but his symptoms don’t seem to subside. Now that he’s potty-trained, he’s gotten more comfortable relieving himself, but he’s still about 4 days in between. Do you have any recommendations?
HI Sarah! I love your site! I was thinking that constipation in babies is not only due to dietary concerns with either formulas or breastfed babes and the diet of the mother. It can also be due to stress from in-utero positioning or the birth process itself. Constipation is a presentation I see regularly in my centre with young babes, some having not had a bowel movement for up to 6 or 7 days (yikes!!) I often find its a combination of issues with the sacral nerves with an underlying cranial dysfunction. When this is cleared, more often than not, there is a great release and return to a normal and regular bowel function.