Digestive discomfort in Children

With the birth of a baby, a mother is also born. And with this, comes a new set of responsibilities catering towards fulfilling every need of your new born, most important being “NUTRITION”. At birth, the digestive system of the neonate is at a developing stage and relies completely on mother’s milk or formula-based milk as the body lacks enough digestive enzymes to metabolize the solid intake.

You might have generally seen in Indian households, the mother caressing the baby’s back after a meal in order to release a burp or the baby ‘spits-up’ the milk or vomits after some time in case the food doesn’t digest properly.

Before jump on the digestion problems in babies, lets understand the nutrition of babies and how it will develop over the period.

NUTRITION IN BABIES ACCORDING TO AGE GROUP

Birth
Babies generally require food within a few hours of birth. The requirement is fulfilled by mother’s milk called the “colostrum” as it has various antibodies and nutrients required for baby’s growth.

After 6 months
Baby starts taking solid food also known as complementary food. Can be started off by giving sweet potato, peas, carrots. There is a transition from fully mashed food to finely chopped foods to enable chewing habits.

9-12 months
The variety as well as texture of food gets improved as the baby grows. More solid foods can be included such as soft meat, vegetables, proteins, and some extra calories.

DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS IN BABIES

Many new-borns spit up small amounts of milk after feeding. This is often due to their immature sphincter and is usually not a cause for concern unless it's associated with other symptoms like poor weight gain or irritability.

Newborns might experience infrequent bowel movements or difficulty passing stool. Symptoms are easily noticeable:

• if your baby doesn’t defecate for 3 days a week
• has a decreased appetite
• passing hard stool
• strained red face while passing stools.

Coeliac Disease- It is basically an autoimmune condition in which the body can’t digest the gluten present in wheat, barley and other cereals. The baby starts having growth issues, diarrhoea, abdominal pain resulting in crying for a longer time.

Infant Acid Reflux- A common condition in infants which the acidic and gastric content of the stomach flows upward towards the oesophagus causing symptoms like It is generally seen in children below 2 years of age. Vomiting is the most common symptom and It is generally seen in children below 2 years of age.

IBS- There is a change in bowel movements causing abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. It is generally cured by changing diet habits.

Lactose Intolerance- This generally is caused by the deficiency of lactase. Its Symptoms include bloating, flatulence and stomach ache.

Food Allergies- Allergies to some food can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain.

Here are a few homemade ingredients which can be helpful in indigestion.

Hing- This is something which can be found in every Indian household. It is known for increasing the activity of digestive enzymes and paying relief from gastric, bloating etc.

Saunf (fennel seed)- This is known since long in Ayurveda for the cooling effect that it produces. It is also a storehouse of vitamin C providing immune properties. It reduces inflammation in the digestive tract reducing the action of bacteria causing gas.

Cumin seeds (jeera)- It is said to improve symptoms of IBS. It heals diarrhoea, reduces flatulence and aids in digestion.

Peppermint (pudina)-It contains cooling properties and aids in digestion. It improves flow of bile which helps in digestion of fats and reduces symptoms of IBS.

Sunflower seed-It contains dietary fibres which help to increase the absorption of nutrients from food.

Ginger(adrak)- This decreases the time for which the food stays in the stomach and ensures rapid emptying of the bowels. It also gives relief from nausea like symptoms.

In case of babies, it is not suggestable to give these homemade remedies to the child in pure form or in any liquid form directly as their digestive system is not ready yet to adopt the homemade remedy.

To save babies from digestion discomfort, we need to take care of many things while cooking food and feeding them such as:

1. Proper take care of hygiene while cooking and feeding. We must sure that our hands are washed properly and sanitized before touch any food item.
2. The food items such as veggies must be washed properly.
3. Use fresh clothes and properly washed utensils.
4. Try to keep separate utensils for baby food cooking.
5. Maintain the cleanliness in kitchen, make sure there will be no insects roaming around kitchen.

Conclusion

Babies digestion is very sensitive and it is in learning phase in intial months. Indigestion and gastric troubles can increase disturbances for the baby, leading to more discomfort. To counter these type of digestion problems BabyOrgano presents natural hing roll on, which is a natural and effective solution for relieving digestive discomfort in children. It contains hing (asafoetida), a traditional herb known for its digestive properties. The roll-on is gentle on the skin and can be applied directly to the child's abdomen, providing soothing relief from common digestive issues like gas and bloating.