My 7 Month Baby is Not Pooping for Weeks?!!

by: HALEY

My baby is 10 months old, breastfed and eats 3-4 meals per day. Is the lack of bowel movements still okay? She goes every 6-8 days.

by: Baby Help Line

Hi,

It all depends on whether your baby appears to be constipated or not. If the meals are only a small part of the total intake; it isn’t strange, but if she mainly eats solid foods, it seems to be a bit unusual to go that seldom. Are the stools hard? Painful bowel movements?

If she seems to be OK and not constipated, then it is likely to be OK, otherwise you might want to try to help her by adding for example more apricots, pears, prunes etc to her diet and less carrots and dairy products.

Hope this helps,

Pauls

by: Dwight M

Hello Dana,

I’m not jumping the gun but it wouldn’t hurt to suggest to have your baby tested for hirschsprung’s disease. This is a disorder of the colon in which certain nerve cells known as ganglion cell are absent causing chronic constipation especially in infants. This causes the part of the colon nearest to the anus to not contract causing a blockage leading to excruciating discomfort and pain.

by: Paul V.

We have kind of a similar situation. Our daughter is now about 5 1/2 months and she is exclusively breast-fed. Yet she only goes about every 10 days (sometimes less sometimes more). But when she does go it’s a complete deluge. The other thing is that she seems uncomfortable (and hence CRANKY) for days before she finally lets it all out. Doc says she’s growing well and looking good, so nothing to worry about, but it sure makes for long stressful days when she’s ornery and not getting her usually long solid naps.

by: jax

My little Jazmynn had the same pooping problem, she is also still breastfed and she is now 7 months. the past week we have introduced her to goats milk and she loves it…and now she is pooping regularly, she drinks water throughout the day too and she is still breastfed but i found that the goats milk really helped with the digestive system.