Silent reflux and constipation issues

[Ela]

My DD is 6 1/2 months old and suffers from silent reflux. She has not been officially diagnosed but I am almost 100% sure that she has it based on threads posted and information relating to reflux. She has been excl breastfed up until she started solids 2 weeks ago. She used to do poos with every feed up until she was 3 months old. She then stopped doing poos for 2-3 days at a time and would be VERY uncomfortable in between. We are now on solids and she still struggles to do poos every day. Her poos are semi solid and I fear that she is not getting enough fluids. As many reflux babies she struggles at the breast during the day. I offer her water which she loves, but I don't want to fill her up on water. Can I give her prune juice to help her poo more regularly??

Thanks

[RISA]

Hi Ela
Thanks for contacting our organisation. Your instincts may well be right, and reflux may well be the issue your daughter has, but it is really important that you talk to your doctor about what is going on. Reflux is not always the cause of difficulties with feeding, sleeping, or any other issue, so it is best to make sure a doctor is satisfied that it is.

Is she putting on an adequate amount of weight? Is she growing and developing ok? What about her level of distress? What is that like? Is she normally content and happy or is she more irritable or difficult to manage?? All these kinds of things, even if it is reflux, may impact on what the dr prefers to do- whether he wishes to treat any issues medicinally or otherwise.

Many children require medication to help with the discomfort and to help stop the acid from damaging the oesophagus, which if left unchecked can cause major problems down the line. A visit to your paed would be a good place to start or discuss it with your clinic health sister or GP.

Constipation and reflux often go hand in hand, the more they get constipated the worse the reflux can be. It may be an option to treat her the natural way with prune juice or with pear juice which some find works better but please seek medical advice first. Sometimes until you get the reflux under control you can have problems getting the constipation sorted out. There are some reflux children who have motility issues, where the stomach doesn’t empty out quickly enough, so this also causes them to reflux more. These are all things which you should discuss with your doctor.

Reflux children seem to often have a lot of allergies to certain foods, i.e. Dairy protein, soy protein, wheat, gluten, just to name a few. So you could find that if her condition begins to get worsen then check the labels on what you are feeding her and see if there is a connection. One thing I was always told was to start a food diary, this way you can see what she has been eating and how she reacts. This is the easiest way to detect whether or not something is upsetting her when she is feeding. Then you can omit this food and see if it makes a difference but once again this is something that should be done under medical guidance.

I hope this helps, you are doing a great job, keep it up, we are always here if you need to talk. I hope you can get the constipation and feeding under control.

Good Luck
Marie