How to Give an Infant a Stool Softener

Helping with bowel movements

If you have noticed that your infant has been struggling to go to bathroom for a few days and is cranky because of it, there is something you can do to help. All you need to do is consult with your child's doctor and go to your local grocery store or pharmacist and pick up some glycerin suppositories. This will help your infant resume her schedule in using the bathroom with ease.

Things You'll Need

• One box of glycerin suppositories
• Petroleum jelly

Instructions

1. Lay your infant on his/her tummy on a flat, stable surface. A blanket on the floor is the perfect place.

2. Rub his back and calm him down before you proceed with doing anything. If he is crying, it will make it extremely difficult to insert the suppository.

3. Spread open his buttocks and apply some petroleum jelly to the outside of the baby's rectum. Do not put any inside, just around the outside of the rectum so the suppository goes in with more ease.

4. Using one hand to spread the infants buttocks, use the other hand to insert the glycerin suppository inside of the rectum. Proceed slowly. Do not push it in quickly or the infant will push it out.

5. Once the suppository is completely inside of the rectum, close the infants legs so they cannot push it out and so the suppository melts.

6. Put a clean diaper on the infant and wait for a bowel movement, which should not take long.

Tips & Warnings

• Suppositories are used for constipation, which refers to how compact and difficult the stools are to pass, not how frequently they are passed.

• If your infant does not have a bowel movement with the suppository and is extremely cranky and uncomfortable, see your pediatrician immediately.

References

• Ask Dr. Sears: Constipation