EVERYONE OCCASIONALLY feels uncomfortable due to gas in the digestive system. Gas-related discomfort “may occur if gas is trapped or not moving well through your digestive system,” according to the Mayo Clinic. When infants experience gas-related discomfort, they can become fussy and cry, says Dr. William Mudd, a board-certified pediatrician and doctor of osteopathic medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Fortunately, parents can use these strategies to provide relief to their infant:
Feed your infant smaller amounts.
Burp your baby more frequently.
Try the bicycle maneuver.
Consider using different feeding bottles.
Try an OTC medication.
Causes of Gas in Babies
For adults, eating certain foods can result in feeling gassy. For example, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains are high in fiber and good for digestion, but can also cause gas. For some people, eating deep-fried or fatty offerings can cause gas and indigestion. Consuming dairy products can do the same for people with lactose intolerance. For babies, swallowing too much air while feeding is the most common cause of being gassy, says Dr. Steph Lee, a South Carolina-based pediatrician specializing in preventive medicine and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Babies are still learning how to swallow and suck,” she says. “They’re swallowing more air than they should.”
U.S. News, in partnership with Pharmacy Times, surveyed nearly 300 pharmacists about what they would recommend to someone considering infant gas products. Of those, 224 (78 percent) suggested Infant’s Mylicon Gas Relief Drops, while 34 (12 percent) recommended Little Remedies Little Tummys Gas Relief Drops. Hyland’s Baby Gas Drops got 16 votes, for 6 percent, and Pediacare Gas Relief Drops received 14 votes, representing 5 percent.
[ SEE: What to Eat, Drink and Do to Relieve Constipation. ]
Strategies to Relieve Baby Gas
1. Feed your infant smaller amounts. A newborn’s stomach is about the size of his or her fist, Lee says. “It’s pretty small. Make sure you give the infant 1 to 2 ounces every hour instead of feeding more volume every two or three hours. You don’t want to overwhelm (the baby’s) digestive system. Overfeeding your baby can sometimes cause more gas.”
2. Burp your baby more frequently. Burping your baby more frequently is a good way of getting rid of additional air he or she swallowed while feeding, Lee says. She recommends burping the child for several minutes between each five to 10 minutes of feeding.
3. Try the bicycle maneuver. With your baby on his or her back, hold onto his or her calves and move them as if the baby was making a cycling motion, Lee suggests. This creates hip movements “that help the tummy move the gas along and out.” It’s also a form of exercise, which can help the infant avoid constipation.
4. Consider using different feeding bottles. If you’re providing pumped breast milk or formula to your baby, you might consider changing the bottle or nipples to reduce the air the child swallows along with the liquid, which can increase gas, says Dr. Eric Barth, a pediatrician with Allina Health Clinics in the Minneapolis area. This could entail switching to a slow-flow nipple or using an angled bottle, he says. Failing to consistently tip a regular bottle could increase the air a child gulps. Another option is a bottle with a bag inside that collapses as the baby drinks, which may result in less swallowed air, Barth says.
5. Try an OTC medication. There are several over-the-counter medications available to treat infant gas, says Dr. Jacqueline Jossen, assistant professor, division of pediatric gastroenterology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Most of these OTC medications contain simethicone, the active ingredient commonly marketed to adults as Gas-X, says Jossen, who is a pediatric gastroenterologist. This medication breaks up large gas bubbles into smaller ones and in theory should help babies pass gas with less discomfort. There’s no scientific research to support using simethicone for infant gas, but it’s a safe medication to try, she says.
What Is Baby Constipation?
Just as everyone feels gassy on occasion, we all get constipated at times, including infants. While baby constipation isn’t common, according to the Mayo Clinic, it does happen. “Infants may struggle to pass gas or stools even of soft consistency,” Mudd says. “The proper medical terminology for this condition is ‘infant dyschezia.’ This is most often what parents mean when they bring a young infant for constipation. The condition is caused by problems coordinating pelvic musculature contraction/relaxation. This process takes time and practice for our immature brains to master.”
Infant Bowel Habits
Constipation in babies is not defined by the number of bowel movements the infant is having, says Dr. Christina J. Valentine, medical director for Reckitt Benckiser/Mead Johnson Nutrition, North America. She’s also a neonatologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Rather, (baby constipation) is hard stools with or without blood.” This can be caused by an infection, a problem with the baby’s intestines or low fluid intake, she says. Mudd concurs that baby constipation isn’t necessarily defined by how often an infant poops. “Breastfed infants initially have frequent bowel movements but will then have decreasing frequency of stools,” Mudd says. “These infants can go up to a week without having a bowel movement (as they are utilizing every bit of nutrients provided in the breast milk), and this is completely normal as long as the stool is not hard when it is expelled.”
If your baby has a pattern of having only one bowel movement a week, which happens on occasion, and doesn’t evacuate for longer than one week, that could also indicate a problem, says Dr. Anna Baldino, a board-certified pediatrician and medical director at Independence Blue Cross. For babies who are eating cereal, “if a parent notices that the baby is straining for more than 10 minutes, or the stools are pellet-like in appearance, they should consider switching to a barley-based cereal, which is less binding than rice but generally well tolerated,” Baldino says.
It’s worth knowing that babies under the age of 8 weeks often experience something called benign infant dyschezia, says Dr. Whitney M. Sunseri, an assistant professor of pediatrics, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. This is when they are crying, grunting, turning red/purple in the face and trying to pass a bowel movement for anywhere up to 20 minutes, and when it finally comes out it is soft in consistency,” Sunseri says. “This is not constipation. It is simply the child has difficulty coordinating the act of bearing down to generate pressure to pass a bowel movement along with the relaxation of their external sphincter. Although it is painful for parents to watch, it is not causing the child any physical harm or discomfort.”
Fortunately, most of the time irregularity issues will resolve themselves by the baby’s first birthday. Here are two approaches to baby constipation:
Liquids for babies less than 6 months old.
Limit constipating foods for babies ages 6 months and older.
1. Liquids for babies less than 6 months old. After a baby is 1 month old and until he or she starts eating solids, if you think the infant is constipated, try providing small amounts of 100 percent juice, Lee says. Apple, pear or prune juice work well because the sugars aren’t digested very well and they help draw water into the gut and soften stool. In one day, you can safely give about an ounce per every month of life. “For example, a 3-month-old baby can get up to 3 ounces a day, but I would start with just giving 1 ounce a day and see if that resolves the constipation. Babies don’t need additional water apart from breast milk or formula, so I generally don’t recommend water until after 6 months of age,” Lee says. “If this doesn’t work, consult your pediatrician, because there are safe stool softeners for babies that can help.”
2. Limit constipating foods for babies ages 6 months and older. Once a baby can start eating solid food after 6 months of age, ways to treat constipation include limiting constipating foods, such as rice cereal, white toast or bananas, Lee says. Barth agrees, adding that he recommends giving babies old enough for solid food “p” foods to alleviate constipation: “Prunes, pears, plums, peaches (and apricots),” Barth says. “Prunes have a well-deserved reputation for keeping folks ‘regular.’ I have a number of patients who do very well as long as they get some prunes or prune juice every day.”
Pediatrician Advice Parents Ignore
A pediatrician checks the reflexes of a girl in an examination room.
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Updated on March 11, 2019: This story was originally published on June 14, 2016, and has been updated with new information.
Ruben Castaneda, Staff Writer
Ruben Castaneda has worked at U.S. News since September 2016. Mr. Castaneda
