Constipation in Babies

Many babies suffer from this complaint. So much so that it is often considered quite 'normal' . But there is always a reason why and it is better to solve the underlying problem rather than giving regular symptomatic relief .

What do I mean by constipation?

Constipation does not only refer to being in pain, having a distended abdomen, or being in pain producing a bowel movement. It can also refer to painless infrequency of bowel movements and general inactivity of the bowel, even when it seems not to bother your baba.

A healthy bowel is one which eliminates waste matter regularly!

There is a difference between breast-fed babies and bottle-fed babies when it comes to frequency of bowel movements as it is more common for breast fed babies to have less movements. However, Mum should note  in the case of an infrequent bowel movement, whether the baby's abdomen is soft, their appetite remains healthy and has not reduced in any way (it is easy to attribute a reduced appetite to teething and other complaints), whether there are any noises, gurgling, gas or fermentation in the baby's belly, and whether the consistency of the stool remains soft, and whether there is any straining when the baby does have a bowel movement. If none of these symptoms are present, it is probably okay. 

Here are some suggestions of homeopathic remedies to use if your baby becomes constipated:

Silica 6x/ 6c/ or 1 dose only if 30c. Use this if baby's poohs are hard and small and dark and are produced with much strain and effort. Also if you notice that the stool does actually recede after baby has tried to go (if you catch baby poohing!) . Use if the constipation starts up coinciding with difficult and slow teething. And particularly if your baby's appetite is poor and they are not gaining weight satisfactorily.

Calc-carb 30c. This is useful if your baby seems to be not bothered at all in any way by being constipated and the bowel just seems inactive. This baby is a placid type, who gets a bit sweaty round the back of the head, is pudgy with chubby cheeks and contented. The constipation may accompany teething as well or not. And they may have trouble digesting milk or be sensitive to lactose or milk protein.

Lycopodium 30c. This is where the baby will be irritable with the constipation, and very 'gassy' lots of burping and/or farting alongside the complaint. Instead of having a poor appetite, they seem to never get enough to satisfy them and particularly get hungry at night-time. They will also be clingy and fussy in general from the discomfort and their abdomen will be distended or hard as a rock.

Nux-vomica 30c. Give this to an impatient, determined baby! Who can be irritable but is fiercely independent rather than clingy and who is experiencing alot more frustration with developmental milestones than other babies. Give this also where the baby has had any conventional medicines that have upset the system or where the baby has had to have had laxative to produce a bowel movement. This baby will be trying to go the loo and will strain and push but nothing will come out and all their efforts will be in vain.

Also, if your baby is constipated and has had a number of antibiotics use Infant Probiotics (I find the Udo's Choice Brand excellent)  to restore the friendly bacteria in the bowel and aid bowel health. But only give the probiotic after an antibiotic rather than during their treatment. It is always a waste of money to take probiotics while taking an anti-biotic - the antibiotic kill the probiotics off as fast as they go in. The infant probiotics are perfectly safe and can be mixed in with yoghurt for older babies on solids.

Breast-feeding Mums remember to check your own diet and make sure your baby doesn't have a cow's milk sensitivity and make sure you, yourself are not dehydrated and drink plenty of water and eat fruit. Do not over-do the fibre in your own diet though.

When babies are on solids as well as milk feeds - this is an obvious one, I know...but give them fruit ( not too much banana) and remember to give them water as well.

Constipation can have an overall effect on depressing immunity, toxifying the body, holding back development, preventing assimilation of nutrients and contributing to poor growth and picky eaters; so it is not a 'small' complaint in relation to your baby's overall health and well-being!

There are many other natural  remedies and tips for alleviating constipation as well as homeopathy but that is for another day!

The Largest Homeopathy Academy in Malaysia

The Faculty of Homeopathy Malaysia Bio Data

Started: 10 April 1979

Registered Office: 1979 at No.11 Bangunan Tabung Haji Lama, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Student: 1979 First started with 10 Students

2011 - Graduated more than 1000 students all over the world.

It is Charity base and Further Education in the field of alternative medcine

According to the Star Newspaper:
" It one of the biggest and oldest Homeopathic Organization in Malaysia"

Today Faculty of Homeopathy Malaysia has a world wide reputation as the excellent , natural holistic and complementary studies.

" Under Prof Dr Nik Omar I founf to be one of the best study centre in the world" , sais Dr Sommai Phokamnerd from Bangkok, Thailand.

How Does Homeopathy Work ?

Photo: Dr Nik Omar in traditional Malay dress


How does Homeopathy work, multiple mechanisms?



Dr. Peter H Kay.

The active substances in some homeopathic preparations are often so dilute that they do not have any pharmacological activity. So, how do they work?

It is thought by many that homeopathic remediation involves a process in which water can be imprinted with the memory of substances that have been dissolved in it in the past. This idea is often put forward to explain why some remedies work when they are so dilute that they do not contain any of the original active substance.

Other plausible mechanisms have been proposed [1]. For example, it is thought that some homeopathic remedies may work by a process called hormesis. The hormesis hypothesis states that many chemical and physical agents have the capacity to stimulate biological effects at doses below the toxicity threshold, while causing toxicity at doses above the threshold. This concept is akin to the Arndt-Schulz Law in pharmacology.

On the other hand, some homeopathic remedies may in fact work by promoting a pharmacological response. It is important to realise that in the body, some hormones are active at concentrations in the range of 10-6 to 10-18 g/ml. This is well within the range of concentrations at which some homeopathic remedies are administered, particularly in cases where mother tinctures are used.

Kratz [1] suggested that some homeopathic remedies work by reactivating some of the body?s enzyme and endocrine systems by interacting with regulatory and biofeedback mechanisms, again it is possible that some mother tincture homeopathic remedies work in this way.

It is likely that elements of the psychobiological gene expression system [2] also play an important indirect role in the success of homeopathic remediation. For example, it is now well established that thought processes can activate genes that promote health through release of various neurotransmitters.

This is one of the ways by which the practitioner may ease a client?s suffering as a consequence of the interview process. It is also recognised that negative thought processes can activate genes that promote ill-health, leading to what are known as psychosomatic illnesses.

There is a yet further remarkable mechanistic possibility that is based on the discovery of exciting new properties of DNA and the fact that highly diluted homeopathic DNA alone can cause symptoms of disease in healthy subjects.

Firstly, Baldwin and colleagues [3] showed that DNA molecules have remarkable telepathic properties, DNA molecules with the same sequence can communicate with each other. Secondly, Montagnier and his team [4] have shown that mechanically activated DNA molecules emit electromagnetic signals that are recognised by DNA molecules with the same sequence.

These newly discovered properties of DNA molecules provide a plausible explanation for the properties of some homeopathic remedies because those prepared from plant, animal and human tissues will most likely contain DNA. They have also enabled the development of a new advanced form of New Homeopathic micro-DNA remediation called Homeovitality (see www.homeovitalitycentre.com).

All of these mechanisms may be relevant to the remedial properties of different homeopathic remedies and need not be mutually exclusive with respect to any particular remedy.

References
1. http://www.kulisz.com/how%20does%20homeopathy%20work.htm.
2. Rossi E. The psychobiology of gene expression. WW Norton & Company, New York. ISBN 0393-70343-6. 2002.
3. Baldwin et al., DNA double helices recognize mutual sequence homology in a protein free environment. J. Phys. Chem. B., 4:112, 2008.