Archive for February, 2008

Constipation in infants results when the stools are harder and firmer.

The child will have pain or will be troubled when the bowels are not empty.

Constipation in infants and breastfeeding: The breast fed milk can be digested easily, so it is rarely seen in them.

The bacteria present in the large intestine of the breast fed infants helps in breaking the undigested proteins. In breast-fed children, there is a hormone motiline present. Higher levels of this hormone increase the bowel movements.

Bottle fed infants: The babies who are fed with the bottle frequently suffer with the constipation. The baby cannot digest the formula milk because it is harder.

A baby who is fed with the formula milk will have lesser bowel movements when compared to the breastfed baby. Their stools are greenish, thicker and different.

New born with bowel movement: The young baby can have bowel movement once a week and several times a day. Laxative is administered in case of bowel movements with long intervals.

Old babies with bowel movement: The appearance of their stools, consistency and the bowel movement depend on solid food they eat.

The infant bowel movements are observed during the first few days of life, which is often referred as passing meconium.

The intestine of the infants is filled with a substance that is black, thick or dark green before birth. The stools turn yellow-green once the meconium is eliminated.

Some times the infant bowel movements may vary from one infant to the other. In a baby with breast fed, the stools should resemble light mustard with seed-like particles.

The stools should be soft or slightly runny, until he starts to eat solid baby food. The stools will be tan or yellow in color in infant who are fed with formula milk. They will be firmer when compared to that of breast-fed infants.

Frequency of Infant bowel movements:

The frequency of bowel movements varies from one baby to another. Many of them pass their stools just after each feed. This is due to the gastro colic reflex. This makes the digestive system active whenever the stomach is filled with more food.

Bowel movements in breast-fed infants:

Some breast-fed babies, who are 3 to 6 weeks old, have only one bowel movement a week and still they are normal. This is caused due to the little amount of solid waste left by the breast-fed that is to be eliminated from child’s digestive system.

Infant asthma cannot be distinguished with other diseases as they resemble the same. The children with the asthma may not wheeze.

Infant asthma may be repeated in the family having the history of

• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• Coughing
• Shortness of breath or fast breathing

The symptoms are made worse due to the

• Changes in humidity or weather
• Smoke (wood, tobacco, etc.,) or other irritants (like strong odors or perfumes)
• Viral infection
• Exercise or active playing
• Laughing or crying
• Thing’s to which the child is allergic to such as animal fur or pollen

The signs and symptoms of infant asthma are not the same in every child. About 50 to 80 percent of the children with asthma develop symptoms before their fifth birthday according to several studies.

• Asthma is not diagnosed correctly. This leads to the improper treatment of many children and infants.
• All the coughs and wheezes are not caused by asthma. Treating with asthma medicines is not correct all the time.
• Coughing frequently with or without wheezing is caused by asthma.
• Only coughing is the symptom of the asthma, wheezing may not be a symptom of asthma.

Baby beds are of different shapes.

They may be oval, round and rectangular and are made of iron, wood or plastic.

They are provided with the ruffles on one side and wheels on other side, so that they can be carried easily while traveling.

Baby beds are of different colors, pleasant and are eye catching for your baby.

Baby bedding is important because your baby will spend most of the time on it. In order to give support to the body of the baby, the bedding should be firm and soft as they are delicate with soft skin.

The beds are made up of cotton, feathers and hay in olden days but now they are made of spring and foam. The density of foam and the number of coils increases the quality of the bed.

A baby bedding set consists of bumpers and fitted baby sheets. The jojo baby beddings are cheap.

Crib bedding is used for the comfort of the baby. It is made of a fitted crib sheet, four sided padded bumper, dust ruffle, a crib blanket or comforter or quilt.

Infant vitamins are the essential organic substances that are required for growth, functioning of the baby and maintenance.

Food supplies the necessary vitamins because the body cannot produce it.

Vitamin D is exceptional to it as it is produced by the sunlight when our skin is exposed to the sun.

Infant vitamins also contain the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and water soluble vitamins i.e. vitamin B (folate, niacin, biotin and pantothenic acid) to ensure proper nutrition.

Vitamin supplementation is not needed for the healthy infants taking the formula, unless or until directed by the pediatrician. High doses of certain vitamins cause adverse effects on the children’s health.

High dose of vitamin A causes vomiting, head ache, brain swelling, bone abnormalities and liver damage. High dose of vitamin D leads to heart and kidney damage, and high levels of calcium in blood.

So the high dose vitamins should not be given to children and infants without the advice of the pediatrician.

Premature babies and infants with low birth weight should be supplemented with infant vitamins and special formulas. The specialized formulas should contain more calories per ounce than that of the routine formula.