Breastfed babies & bowel movements

My baby is 4 weeks old. I am breastfeeding her. She has not had a bowel movement since Wednesday 12/2/03 (7 days). I am told that it is normal for a breastfed baby to go without a bowel movement for up to 10 days. Is this normal? Has anyone experienced this with their baby?

Is there anything that I could give her to help her along or should I perservere for another few days?

She is settling well after feeds. She has no trouble passing wind from both ends and does not appear have a pain in the tummy.

My son is 7 months old and he usually goes at least a week before emptying his bowels. He has done this all his young life, he has no pains. Since eating solids, sometimes it takes a little longer. He settles well after feeds. As far as I know it is perfectly normal and you shouldnt worry.

breastfed babies can go up to 10 days without bowel movements. i was told this was because breastmilk is made up only of what the baby needs so there is no need to "rid" the body of what is not needed. my son has gone up to 8 days and even when he has gone it really wasn't as much as i was expecting. i wouldn't give your baby anything to help it along without speaking to a doctor.
i have had 2 children and breastfed both and found that the up to 10 days is normal. good luck

My son is nearly 4 months old and I breast feed him.
He has at least 8 nappy changes a day with 2 being soiled. I was told your baby is healthy if you have 6 - 8 nappy changes a day. If you are concerned seek advice from your community nurse or a doctor. If he is gaining weight that is a good sign but still seek medical advice.

it is very normal.
my daughter went 7 days as long as they are passing wind its fine
the reason this happens is because u have a good supply of milk that has little waste in it

My first son used to soil his nappy every single nappy change for the first 6 months of life (A lot of work!). I was told it was normal for breast fed babies to poo from several times a day to every 7-10 days. From 6 1/2 months onwards we have found out he has a lot of food allergies and now at 20 months, in hindsight we realise it was constant diarhhoea. My second son is almost 11 weeks and he soils his nappy anywhere from every 3 or 4 days to every 10 days. I feel this is much more normal.

This is very normal, as is having a bowel movement several times a day. Breast fed babies have less waste to eliminate so it depends on how each baby's system deals with it. So long as you are getting plenty of wet nappies everything is fine. Breast fed babies tend to have less bowel movements when they are going thru growth spurts than when they are not, due to almost all of their food supply being used. Hope this helps grin