by maipham

May 24, 2022

Is gripe water good for constipation in babies

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When I did my research on gripe water, it seems that gripe water is the go-to solution for parents to deal with everything relating to babies’ tummies. From gas to colic to diarrhea and constipation, I’ve seen moms and dads asking around if gripe water can come to rescue when everything else doesn’t seem to work.

Let’s talk about one of the most common tummy issues in the first few months of your little one’s life: constipation and how gripe water can (seem to) help.

Does gripe water help with constipation? If not, what else can you do?

Let’s dive in.

Does gripe water help with constipation?

First of all let's recap on what we know about the ingredients of the gripe water. Gripe water contains many different ingredients depending on the formula of each brand. But some of the common ingredients are sodium bicarbonate, fennel, ginger, chamomile, dill, peppermint, vegetable glycerin and lemon juice.

The fiber content in fennel help to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.

Dill leaves are also filled with fiber that helps expel waste out of the digestive system and support greatly in treating constipation.

Vegetable glycerin can draw water into the gut and has a laxative effect.  Therefore it helps to move food through the gut smoothly and to relieve constipation. 

Therefore if gripe water contains fennel, dill, or vegetable glycerin then that gripe water is likely to help with constipation.

Another option that you might want to try is using constipation relief drop for your baby. The common ingredients in these constipation relief drops are fennel and prune juice. Prune juice or prune famously known for relieving constipation and help to support adjusted health. When combining prune juice with fennel,  the effect on your babies tummies are much faster.

As the the most common ingredients in gripe water is fennel, you can concede your gripe water is a slightly lighter version of constipation relieve drops.

However the next question is, how long does it take for gripe water to relieve baby from their constipation?

How fast does the gripe water work?

why does my baby always choke on gripe water

As clearly stated in the instruction of the gripe water, each dose of gripe water needs to be given at least 30 minutes apart from the next dose.

What does that means? It means gripe water needs at least 30 minutes to work in your baby’s tummy.

This can work well when dealing with gas, ask gas or air can travel quite quickly through the system. But does it work ask fast for constipation?

Depending on how long your baby has constipation, what kind of food has he's been consuming and how much food he has been eating or drinking in the last few day, gripe water can take effects fast or slow. In general, it takes from 3 hours to around an average 2 days for the gripe water to help release your babies from constipation.

If your baby  is suffering from constipation and he is feeling very uncomfortable, then you might try different instant constipation relief treatments to help.

Most effective way to help with your baby’s constipation

This is a trick I learned from my mom to relieve my son's constipation instantly.  What you need is some raw honey (around 2-5ml), a syringe without the needle of 10mil or an empty eyes drop bottle with a soft cap. 

Make sure you put your baby into the potty or a diaper because it's going to get messy quickly.

Fill up the syringe or the eyes drop bottle with raw honey, fill up the remaining with lukewarm water and shake well. Gently inject raw honey in your baby buttocks. 

The next thing you have to do is just wait and see your baby being relieved from the constipation in less than 5 minutes.

However doctors also recommend that parents should not use this honey trick too often as it will make your baby lose his natural reflexes. 

There are also different ways to relieve your baby constipation, including using castor oil, probiotics, lukewarm water, etc. But when I use these methods for my family and myself, these methods can help in some way but  you need to give it some time for it to work, around 2 to 6 hours, or sometimes overnight.

Of course, there are also options to use the instant constipation relief that are sold on the market. However if your baby is too young then I would not recommend using the instant constipation relief or castor oil, all probiotics, all lukewarm water. All because if your baby is is less than 6 months old, then you should not give your baby anything other than breastmilk or formula.

Conclusion 

Does gripe water help with constipation?

Yes it is good in some way and they're also other methods to help with your baby’s constipation.

But the most important and preventive measure of all is to provide your baby with a healthy diet. Provide your baby with plenty of fibers, waters and probiotics if your baby is older than 6 months old, And give your baby 100% breastmilk or formula milk for his digestive system to develop if he's less than 6 months old. 

About the author 

Mai Pham

Mai Pham discovered her passion for writing a few years ago and she never stop thinking about it ever since. She finally took the leap and created Live a Worthy Life to brag about her smart ass (mainly just for fun). Enjoyed the fun writing brings, now with her new interest in everything-baby-related, she created Mommy Instinct, to tell mamas that it's ok that they mess up, that they don't know what the hell they are doing, and that it's okay to sit back and relax for a while.

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