Prune Juice For Babies

If constipation is painful and difficult to go through for adults, how do you think it feels like for babies? You can’t just give babies any form of treatment because of their age, yet you have got to do something to relieve them of their misery. You would prefer natural remedies (such as prune juice) to pharmaceutical-grade medications, of course, so read on and learn what the safest options are available for your child.

The frequency of bowel movement and the amount of stool a baby passes will depend on his/her age and what food he/she eats. If your baby’s stool has a hard and pellet-like appearance, he/she cries in pain while having his/her bowel movement or has them irregularly then he/she might have constipation.

Additionally, a baby who has constipation will arch his/her back or tighten his/her buttocks while he/she cries.

The abdominal muscles of babies are weak and strain during difficult bowel movements especially if his/her stool is hard. Infants have constipation when they begin eating solid food.

The front line treatment is to include water to your bay’s regular feeding. If water isn’t much help, give him/her a serving of 100% prune juice once a day as his/her diet’s addition.

• SEE: How To Make Prune Juice

The Effect of Prune Juice On Babies

Prune juice for constipated babies is one of the most widely accepted and common home remedies. One ounce each of water and prune juice may be mixed and fed to the baby twice daily. Straining prune juice ensures that there is no fibrous substance that the baby could choke on.

This prune juice solution must be given to the baby as an addition to his/her daily food or breast milk if he/she is breastfed.

Prunes that you have juice and diluted yourself is preferred, albeit store-bought prune juice may be a last resort. This is to avoid the additional sugar which some commercially-prepared canned or bottled prune juices have. The dilution mentioned can help loosen and soften your baby’s stool and facilitate peristalsis, the wave-like contractions of muscles in his/her gastrointestinal tract.

When food enters your baby’s gastrointestinal tract, the surrounding muscles move in a series of wave-like motion to push food as well as water through it by contracting and relaxing alternately. The use of prune juice as a laxative for your baby’s constipation, however, is not for long-term use because his/her intestines will soon become dependent on it.

It is perfectly normal for babies to be constipated right after their introduction to solid food. But your baby’s intestines should be able to function on their own properly afterwards; using prune juice to induce bowel movement to occur will prevent this.

Instead of relying on prune juice all the time so your baby can pass stools, changing your baby’s diet will enable him/her to have normal, and regular, bowel movements.

Should You Allow Babies To Drink Prune Juice?

Admittedly, prune juice is an effective treatment for constipation in babies but whether or not your baby should be allowed to drink it all depends on your baby’s age. If solid food has not been introduced to your baby, for instance, hold off on prune juice for his/her constipation unless your paediatrician gives you the go ahead. If your baby hasn’t begun to eat solid food after four months, introducing it all of a sudden will not help.

Making the switch from your breast milk to a formula may be one major cause of your baby’s constipation. Determine which formula is not likely to cause constipation in your baby. Feeding your child a smaller amount of a certain formula should be able to tell you which one is most suitable for him/her. Moreover, postpone the introduction of solid food to your infant until his/her digestive system has matured a little.

Older infants who are six months and above could benefit from an ingestion of prune juice between two and four ounces according to MayoClinic.com reports. Discussing the issue with your paediatrician, however, is important before you give prune juice to your infant, no matter his/her age. As mentioned, changing the diet of a baby who has started eating solid food can help prevent constipation.

• SEE: Benefits of Drinking Prune Juice

7 Foods That Can Cause Constipation in Babies

Certain kinds of food can actually encourage constipation in babies; cross these off your shopping list for now including:

Chronic constipation in babies who are already on solids may be caused by formula because this has the tendency to replace them. Cutting back on the formula and adding more vegetables and fruits should help.