To whom it may concern

I find myself faced with an extremely difficult situation. I gave birth to a baby girl on the 4th of March she was a month premature and weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces at birth. She is now almost 5 weeks old and has gained weight nicely however she has two problems that I am concerned about. She struggles to have a bowel movement which takes place only after 5 or 6 days of cramping and pushing. When she finally has a bowel movement her stools are not hard they are more like a peanut butter constituency (Dark or olive green in colour) therefore I feel she cannot be constipated. After she has had the bowel movement she seems fine and relieved for approximately a 15 hour period after which time she begins to push and cramp. At times when pushing, she pushes so hard that she spits up at the same time but still has no bowel movement. She has no problem urinating and is urinating regularly.

She started on Similac Advanced with iron in hospital in addition to breast milk. I continued to use the formula when she came home. I am still breast feeding a little but have not had sufficient milk to give her breast exclusively. I am pumping my breasts in order to work out how much breast milk she is getting and how much additional formula supplementation she requires. In fact she is only getting approx 5 ounces of breast milk in a 24 hour period therefore the majority of her feed is formula. She did not seem to have the bowel problem in the hospital or when I brought her home initially. It seemed to have developed over time for some unknown reason.

I contacted my pediatrician about the problem and they recommended I try a different formula which I did. I tried Enfamil Lipil with iron and then tried Enfamil gentle ease when the Lipil with iron did not work however I found no difference and the problem has still not been resolved. I changed her back to the Similac with iron then started giving her some prune juice and a little water each day which seemes to have helped, allowing her to have a bowel movement. As mentioned above the stool was not hard therefore indicating that the problem is not one of constipation. The prune juice and water have still not solved the cramping problem and the time duration prior to the bowel movement. I have been back to the pediatrician’s office twice and on the telephone to them on four occasions, they have offered no advice in terms of formula, medication or alternate solution. I am desperate and need some advice as to where to from here as I seem to be getting no where and hitting a brick wall all the time. Any advice you could offer would be most welcomed and appreciated.

Some additional factors that you should be aware of that may have some bearing on the situation: I suffer with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus I am currently not on any medication due to the fact that I am breastfeeding or should I say trying to breast feed. I am however taking Replivia 21/7 “an iron supplement” as my iron levels are extremely low.

“I am not sure if any of the iron supplement I am taking is being transferred to my daughter through the breast milk. If however the iron is being transferred through the breast milk and in addition to that she is on a formula with iron could this possibly be the cause of her stomach problem.   

Thank you

Carla Simons    

Optional Information:
Female , Age: 35

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