What to do if your baby farts with an unpleasant odor

Every woman, becoming a mother, brings care of the child to the fore. And such guardianship is sometimes exaggerated. And first of all, it’s about taking care of your health. Any extra sneeze causes panic. And they pester their pediatrician with questions and study the Internet.

In the first months of life, the child’s body receives only breast milk or adaptive formulas, so the gases are practically odorless. But there are times when a baby farts smelly. Don't be alarmed, there may be several reasons for this.

Causes of bloating

Most often, disturbances in the digestive system begin with bloating. As a result, the child begins to fart frequently. Let's look at the most common reasons.

Maternal nutrition

The diet of an infant depends solely on the diet of the mother. If a nursing mother prefers to eat hot spices, legumes or nuts, then most likely this is the reason for her baby’s bloating. Moreover, the passage of gases may be difficult for more than one day, and it will be possible to notice that the baby is straining.

Adaptation of the infant's stomach

The child's body does not immediately get used to digesting food. On the first day of life, his intestines are practically sterile. Even mother's milk is a complex product. That's why gases are formed.

Feeding formulas

The formula for each child must be selected individually. It often happens that the chosen food is not suitable for the baby. This is what causes gas formation. The child farts a lot, sometimes even screams loudly because his tummy hurts.

Difficulty emptying

If a newborn cannot poop for a long time, he strains and farts a lot, which stimulates the intestines.

When to be wary

But often young parents turn to the pediatrician with the problem of excessive gas formation in the baby, accompanied by an unpleasant odor, gas, and the appearance of colic. The following signs indicate that gas formation is not normal:

• the child behaves restlessly;
• anxiety manifests itself despite the fact that the baby is full and his clothes are dry;
• the baby constantly pulls his legs to his chest and pushes;
• the baby often screams or cries for no apparent reason;
• anxiety is especially evident after feeding;
• the child farts little or has stopped doing so altogether;
• The baby has a hard belly.

If gas cars smell stinky, this may be a consequence of constipation or diarrhea. And that means the child needs help.

Unpleasant smell

The release of gases with an unpleasant odor is explained by the fact that the baby’s gastrointestinal tract is still in the process of formation and does not contain the bacteria necessary for the absorption of food. This is why food begins to ferment or rot – the causes of unpleasant odors. After the intestinal microflora is normalized, the unpleasant odor disappears. Sometimes parents discover that the child himself has stopped smelling farts. But this does not mean that you can do nothing, take no measures. It is worth consulting with a specialist, he will select medications that will help alleviate the situation.

The root cause of a baby's nasty smell of gas may be the diet of a nursing mother. It’s worth reviewing it and making sure that only proper, healthy food is on the menu.

Why do babies get gas?

This is a normal process that occurs as a result of digestion. When their accumulation is excessive, the proper functioning of the digestive organs is disrupted. As a result, severe pain appears, which is called colic. Their symptoms are quite easy to understand:

• The child is restless for no apparent reason (fed, diapers are dry).
• Draws up his legs.
• Screams without a break for one to three hours, more often in the evening, after eating.
• Gases rarely escape.
• The stomach becomes hard to the touch.

In this case, there is also constipation or diarrhea, and the baby often spits up. There may be several reasons:

1. Violation of the recommended diet by the mother. Proper nutrition for a nursing mother is of great importance for the baby’s digestive system. Eating cabbage, legumes and dairy products causes bloating, and, accordingly, colic.
2. Amount of milk consumed. Large portions lead to flatulence.
3. Incorrect application. In such cases, babies swallow air, which causes bloating.

Also, prolonged crying of the baby leads to swallowing air.

Gas formation with feces

If the gastrointestinal tract is severely upset, the baby may fart with poop or water, while he strains and cries a lot, as this process is difficult for him. Parents often complain that their child farts with water even in his sleep. If the baby farts with liquid feces, then first of all it is necessary to reconsider the diet. It is also worth getting tested to rule out intestinal infections.

But many experts assure that there is nothing wrong with the release of feces along with gases. Pediatricians often explain that the child is learning to cope with his body and fart accordingly. Therefore, it is normal for a baby to fart with feces in his sleep.

A breastfed baby's stool may vary in color and consistency every day. Lumps of white, yellow color or feces with mucus are not scary. If a baby is formula-fed, undigested food debris may come out with the poop. In this case, you should pay attention to the baby’s diet and make sure that he receives enough water. If the child’s body does not have enough fluid, this can cause increased gas formation or constipation, which is quite painful for the delicate child’s body. It is important to monitor how many times a day the child poops normally (loose stools are also taken into account).

When a child farts with water in his sleep or simply poops liquidly, do not forget about normalizing the body’s functioning and replenishing the water balance. To do this, you need to give your child a little more drinking water than usual. But don't overdo it! It is worth noting that feces and water irritate children’s delicate skin every day. Therefore, with such a problem, it will require especially careful care.

Smelly gas in a 1 year old child

Kati

A dialogue with a young father prompted me to study this problem. His 3 month old son had stool once every 4-5 days. What is this - constipation? It turns out - no! Constipation in a breastfed baby is hard, dry, formed stool, the so-called “goat balls,” which are very painful for the baby. The consistency of NORMAL feces, even with its relatively rare occurrence, cannot be considered constipation. These are only the physiological characteristics of this particular organism, such as the color of the eyes, the angle of the snub nose or the shape of the nails. We will not treat the body because the snub nose does not coincide with the “average angle”. Why does such a physiologically rare stool (“not constipation”) appear in a baby? For the urge to defecate, a little person needs to experience a chain of certain sensations. The most important of which is the pressure of feces on the intestines; it is the degree of pressure that forms the skill of relaxing the sphincters in response to tension, and not contracting them. A young, completely unformed intestine is still just learning to respond to any external changes; breast milk, the only native and adapted product, helps it in this, gently and without stress at this stage of its formation. Like any student, the intestines undergo a series of tests or even self-tests. Therefore, the stool of a baby in the first half of the year is heterogeneous - sometimes thick, sometimes thin, sometimes .., sometimes rare. And our adult standards for such a young student are unacceptable; an adult’s intestines are very different from the intestines of a baby. The main indicator with such rare stools is the child’s well-being and the passage of gas. The most dangerous sign for constipation is the absence of gas, then you can fear for intestinal patency, but if the baby “farts like a machine gun,” that means the patency is excellent. If the consistency of stool after defecation is normal, without “balls,” then the child does not have a problem. The intestines are simply in a state of testing the degree of pressure of feces inside on the intestinal walls for optimal defecation; after completion of such a test, the body will select a certain period for defecation. This deadline will be set until... the next test, after which everything will change dramatically again. That is, the main thing is to objectively assess the child’s condition, look at the passage of gases, and not at the calendar. And yet it’s so strange and scary when bowel movements are not regular and young parents so want to preoccupy themselves with something. What can be done so that the body is “tested” faster, and parents see the coveted poop, without harming the child and without resorting to medications. General advice is: 1. Give extra fluids. But the problem is not the consistency of the stool!!! The stool inside is soft, the additional liquid makes it generally liquid and... delays the period of natural defecation. As a result, additional mechanical stimulation is required (with a cotton swab in oil, a thermometer), but more often it turns out that due to the additional liquid and the extended period, the “front” part of the stool formed into a dense, hard “plug”, and “above” a very liquid, watery stool. Pooping out the “plug” is very painful and unpleasant for the baby. That is, in the case of physiological rare stools, supplementing with any liquid can worsen the situation. 2. Even the “experienced” may advise giving a drop of juice to the child. Here you need to take into account that juice is a very big irritant with a high acidity factor. A complete lack of fiber, but a killer carbohydrate environment due to sugars. The child’s intestines simply cannot digest this yet; digesting the juice requires additional enzymes that the child’s pancreas does not produce in infancy. And it turns out that there is an irritating product in the intestines - sugar from the juice. Until a certain age, the mucous membrane of an infant is very perceptive and sensitive, molecules penetrate through its walls into the blood, and sugars begin to greatly irritate the mucous membrane, the body receives a signal to get rid of the aggressors as quickly as possible, the pancreas tries to form enzymes to break down carbohydrates in the juice. The intestines collect additional fluid to partially neutralize aggressive sugars and begin to contract, removing the irritant. Externally, the child may have stool quite quickly after the juice is infused. But at the cost of enormous stress on the pancreas, mucous membrane and the body as a whole. At the same time, the necessary minerals and vitamins are washed out of the body, and the child loses a lot of fluid. The carbohydrate component creates an ideal environment in the intestines for the proliferation of pathogenic and opportunistic flora (candida, staphylococcus), which is why thrush in the child’s mouth is so common after copulation. Juice is one of the most cruel methods of influencing the baby’s body. 3 Give an enema. The liquid will create additional pressure, the same pressure that the intestines have been waiting for, and before the physiological readiness of the body there will be stool. The body’s “self-test” is down. Defecation was caused by a mechanical stimulator, contraction of the intestines, but the child himself needs to learn to relax. I think everyone has heard stories from two or three year olds who have problems with bowel movements. Often (not always) these are children who were either bottle-fed, or the period of “learning” on safe stool from breast milk passed against the background of stimulation of bowel movements. So what to do? Nothing. Wait. If the child behaves as usual and farts well, then this means this is another “test”. But if the child strains, blushes, gases do not pass, the stomach is hard, and the child cries upon palpation - this is a completely different matter. We definitely need help here. The first step is to massage your tummy. Massage clockwise with full palm. Or exercises like "bicycle". A warm bath – it doesn’t help anyone to relax. Mom and baby are immersed in warm 37 degree water, breastfed right in the water, then quickly get out, mom or dad rub their arms, legs and tummy with baby oil, then you can put the baby to lie on mom’s tummy relaxed, it’s worth remembering that it’s easier to poop lying down on the tummy or side than on the back, or the mother can feed in the dismounting position (so that the butt is sagging and the child is almost vertical) and in 80% you can wait for the “coveted poop”. It is very good to hold a child who is complaining about his tummy over the sink under his knees, lubricating the anus area with baby oil... The position is the same as when disembarking. Only when these methods do not help can you use the first step of mechanical stimulation. Take a sanitary stick, a thermometer, generously lubricate the tip with Vaseline or baby oil and insert it a little into the butt. No more than a centimeter! Just insert and twist a little. Put away. Put on a diaper and put it on mom’s stomach, tummy to tummy... Or press your knees to your stomach in a position on your back... and only if this doesn’t help, then the next step is a glycyrin suppository. But as a rule, everything works out at the first step. I would like to highlight the purpose of any treatment; parents should analyze - what are they treating - the child’s condition or the analysis? Does your doctor prescribe bifidobacteria? Is there a correlation with the start of use and the onset of stool retention? Have you been warned that bacterial preparations containing bifidocultures affect the stool and can cause chronic constipation, which will be constipation, and not physiological reactions?... Always monitor your child’s stool very carefully when using any medications.

Reducing gas formation

When a baby is just born, his intestines do not yet know how to digest and assimilate food, and the bacteria necessary for this are still being produced. Often meals or the process of bowel movements are quite difficult for the baby, he cries. The child cannot always control this; sometimes he farts with stool containing mucus or liquid in his sleep, or, on the contrary, cannot poop or fart. And the main task of mom and dad is to help him.

1. If the baby cannot fart for a long time and cries, then you can put a diaper heated with an iron on his tummy. Warm fabric will warm and relax the muscles, help cope with the feeling of discomfort;
2. In cases where the baby farts frequently, it is recommended to massage the tummy. Using circular movements clockwise, you can stroke your stomach or press your bent legs against your stomach;
3. A warm bath will help the baby relax and get rid of discomfort;
4. Every day before the feeding procedure, it is better to place the baby on his tummy for a while. And after eating, the child should be held in an upright position for a while;
5. If a child cannot fart for a long time, experiences discomfort, or is capricious, then you can use a special gas outlet tube. When using this device, you must strictly follow the instructions so as not to harm the baby. It is better to use it after a massage. Such procedures will help the baby fart. But it is not recommended to use the tube frequently;
6. If the baby strains a lot every day before pooping or passing gas, then you need to go to the clinic. The pediatrician will select a remedy that will relieve the child of problems. Most often, dill water helps in such situations.

If parents have doubts about the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract of their baby, then it is worth contacting a specialist to rule out infections and diseases of the digestive system. The pediatrician will tell you in detail why this problem specifically arose in your baby and tell you what to do and how to help him.

How to help your baby?

At birth, the baby's intestines are sterile.
And in the first months it is populated with beneficial bacteria, the body learns to produce enzymes. Therefore, the child’s body is not able to cope on its own. At this moment, parents will come to the rescue. Most of the methods were used by our grandmothers:

1. Apply a warm diaper to your tummy. They warm it very simply - ironing it several times. You must be careful not to burn the baby's delicate skin. Heat has a beneficial effect on the intestines, having a relaxing effect.
2. Give a belly massage. The baby is placed on his knees, the fold of the palm is placed on the pubis and circular movements are made clockwise. Movements should be light. Also press your legs, bent at the knees, towards your stomach.
3. Take a bath in a warm bath. It is preferable to put it in the water with its tummy so that it warms up better. You can also massage with water - hold the child’s armpits and imagine that you are rinsing the laundry. After such a bath, the spasms will definitely go away.
4. Place on stomach. This must be done before each feeding to release trapped air. And after feeding, hold the baby upright.
5. Gas outlet tube. Previously, it was a regular rubber tube with an additional hole, but now it is made of plastic and contains a special limiter. It must be administered with extreme caution, as it can damage the intestines. Don't forget to pre-lubricate the tip and butt with baby cream. Its use is usually combined with massage. Instead of a straw, you can use a quarter of a glycerin suppository.
6. Agents that reduce gas formation. The most commonly used are dill water and fennel. These products are absolutely safe for children's bodies. Pharmacies also sell herbal teas.

If conventional methods are unsuccessful, then they turn to medications. There are a great variety of them sold in pharmacies: espumisan, bobotik, plantex and others. They contain fennel or simethicone.

Full formation of the digestive system is completed only by 6 months . And starting from three, the number of bacteria, in most cases, is sufficient to digest milk or formula without unnecessary gas formation.