MAMIL ARTICLES -CHILD'S DIGESTIVE HEALTH

When young children are having fun, it's hard to convince them to stop, even when they should take a toilet break. Replies like "Just five more minutes, please mommy?" and "Wait, I'm not finished yet!" are common, and sometimes parents just give in to a child's innocent persistence. Unfortunately, a child's habit of withholding bowel movements can contribute to constipation, a common problem among children. Constipation happens when stools spend too much time in the colon – this causes the colon to absorb too much water, resulting in hard and dry stools that are difficult to push out from the body. Over time, constipation can worsen, so it's important for parents to be on the lookout for warning signs. These include behaviors such as straining while passing stool or clenching buttock muscles which indicate efforts to withhold bowel movements. Other symptoms include stomach pain and cramping, urinary leakage which can be caused b...

Your growing child needs the right nutrition in the right amounts for his growth and development, and almost all the nutrition that he needs will be handled by his gut. Find out how the gut supports the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients by reading this article. There are many factors that contribute to your child’s growth and development in the early years, and one of them is your child’s gut health. We don’t often pay attention to our child’s gut (or what is sometimes referred to as tummy) unless there is discomfort. This fact may surprise you, but a healthy gut is, in fact crucial to your child’s overall health and well-being 1 . A healthy gut aids the body in the digestion and absorption of nutrients that are essential for growth, while also protecting your child from infection and working with the brain to keep him happy. Helping your child digest and absorb the right nutrients Almost all the nutrition that your child needs will be handled...

The word bacteria can strike fear in any mother. But did you know that your child's growth and development depends on the presence of trillions of good bacteria in his gut? Read on to find out more. Just the mention of the word bacteria is enough to strike panic in many mums. After all, aren’t they the monstrous microscopic creatures that cause their children to fall sick? They are dangerous little things and must be rid of, right? Actually no, not quite. There are some bacteria that are absolutely essential to help support your child's healthy gut, which can affect his total well-being. These "good" or friendly bacteria help support the functions of his gut such as digesting his food, protecting him from infection-causing bad bacteria and influencing his mood, thus supporting his physical and mental well-being. Where do the good bacteria live? Here is an astonishing fact: The microbes in our body outnumber human cells by 10:1 1 , and majority of them liv...