Pediatric constipation & stool withholding
When your child is afraid to poop or keeps holding it, get a clear plan for breaking the cycle.
Virtual consultation with board-certified pediatrician Adriana Cohen-Hausmann, MD, for constipation, stool withholding, painful bowel movements, poop accidents, and difficulty pooping on the toilet. Get an individualized plan for what to do next.
Adriana Cohen-Hausmann, MD
- Board-certified pediatrician
- Board-certified lifestyle medicine physician
- Former Harvard Medical School Instructor
✓ Written action plan · PCP coordination · Virtual care in MA, FL & CO
Small steps.
Lasting comfort.
Does this sound like your child?
Focused support for constipation patterns families live with every day.
For ongoing, nonurgent concerns, recommendations are tailored to your child’s development, health history, current care, and daily life.
- Hides, stiffens, crosses their legs, or visibly holds poop
- Says pooping hurts or seems afraid to go
- Will pee in the toilet but asks for a diaper or pull-up to poop
- Goes several days between bowel movements
- Has poop accidents or streaks in their underwear
- Becomes anxious, upset, or resistant when it is time to poop
When the usual advice is not enough, a focused consultation can help identify what is keeping the cycle going and create practical next steps for your family.
Withholding or fear of pooping
Your child delays, resists, hides, or seems afraid because stools hurt or feel hard to pass.
Painful stools or persistent constipation
Hard, large, infrequent, or uncomfortable stools—including patterns that continue despite prior strategies.
Poop accidents or soiling
A compassionate plan for stool accidents, leakage, or routines affecting home, school, and daily life.
Potty training with constipation in the background
Readiness, stool comfort, and low-pressure routines before or during toilet learning.
Guidance changes with development. Lifestyle and routine strategies are included when appropriate, but the plan starts with your child’s symptoms, history, current care, and safety.
Why children can get stuck
Constipation and withholding can become a cycle.
Breaking the cycle often requires addressing both stool comfort and the behavioral patterns that develop around bowel movements.
Why a focused consultation can help
Dedicated time to put the pieces together.
Your child’s pediatrician remains an important part of their care. Haus Health adds focused time to understand the pattern and help your family put the plan into practice.
Why physician-led? Constipation and toileting difficulties are often both medical and behavioral. Dr. Cohen-Hausmann considers symptoms, medical history, current treatments, growth and development, stooling pattern, diet, routines, behavior, and toileting environment together.
- 1
Understand the pattern
A focused review of stooling, toileting, treatments already tried, routines, and family goals.
- 2
Create a practical plan
Realistic next steps for routines, nutrition, fluids, movement, toilet posture, and positive reinforcement when appropriate.
- 3
Coordinate next steps
A written action plan and clear guidance about follow-up, pediatrician coordination, medication questions, testing, or specialist care when needed.
Board-certified in
Pediatrics & Lifestyle Medicine
Meet your physician
Adriana Cohen-Hausmann, MD
Pediatrician & Lifestyle Medicine Physician · Co-Founder, Haus Health
Dr. Cohen-Hausmann is a board-certified pediatrician and lifestyle medicine physician with nearly a decade of primary-care experience. She helps families translate pediatric guidance into practical, developmentally appropriate routines.
Tufts University School of Medicine · Pediatrics residency at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children · Former Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
“Families need more than a list of tips. They need to understand what may be happening, what to try next, and when the plan needs to change.”
Designed for ongoing, nonurgent concerns
Clear guidance about what belongs online—and what does not.
This service complements—not replaces—your child’s pediatrician, an in-person examination, urgent care, or gastroenterology. Dr. Cohen-Hausmann can review current medications, prior plans, and safety questions, then explain what to discuss with your pediatrician or gastroenterologist. Prescribing, ongoing medication management, laboratory testing, urgent assessment, and specialist visits are outside the scope of this service.
Know when not to wait.
Seek prompt in-person care for blood in the stool, a swollen abdomen, constant abdominal pain, vomiting, weight loss, or an acutely unwell child. If the situation may be urgent, use urgent or emergency care rather than waiting for a virtual visit.
Already tried the usual advice?
When water, fiber, toilet sits, rewards, or waiting it out have not been enough.
Many families come to Haus Health after trying more water, fiber, stool softening, scheduled toilet sits, rewards, sticker charts, or simply waiting for the phase to pass.
A focused consultation helps identify what may be keeping the cycle going and which parts of the plan need to change.
Clear, straightforward pricing
Choose the level of support your family needs.
Begin with a focused consultation and written plan, or choose the 12-week program for implementation and adjustment.
Optional 15-minute introductory call
A brief suitability conversation—not a clinical visit and not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Established-patient follow-up — $125
A focused 20-minute visit available after a Haus Health pediatric digestive consultation or program.
One identified child per service. Insurance is not billed; HSA/FSA payments are accepted, and an itemized invoice can be provided for possible reimbursement.
For pediatricians and clinicians
Refer a family that needs a workable plan.
Haus Health supports families who need help translating constipation or toileting guidance into daily routines. Pediatricians can point families to this page or email Haus Health for referral logistics. Please do not include protected health information by email; we can share secure next steps.
Common questions
What families often want to know.
Should my child attend the consultation?
Usually, yes—when participation is appropriate for your child’s age, comfort, and developmental stage. A parent or legal guardian should attend and provide the medical history. We will not pressure a child to discuss toileting concerns in a way that causes embarrassment.
Can medications or labs be discussed?
Yes. Dr. Cohen-Hausmann reviews your child’s current medications, prior treatment plan, and questions about medication strategy in context. Haus Health does not provide ongoing medication management or order laboratory testing through this service. When a prescription change, testing, or specialist evaluation may be appropriate, she will recommend coordination with your child’s pediatrician or gastroenterologist.
Does this replace my child’s pediatrician or a gastroenterologist?
No. This service complements primary and specialist care and is not a substitute for an in-person examination, urgent care, emergency care, or pediatric gastroenterology when indicated.
What if my child develops new or severe symptoms?
Contact your child’s pediatrician, urgent care, or emergency services for new, severe, rapidly worsening, or otherwise urgent symptoms.
We’re here to help
A calmer, clearer plan can start here.
Begin with a focused physician consultation and leave with practical next steps for your child and family.
Book consultation — $295 For ongoing, nonurgent concerns · Virtual appointments in Massachusetts, Florida & Colorado