Baby food poop

Baby poop: Pictures of healthy and unhealthy stools

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Baby poop comes in a variety of colors, and those colors can change depending on your baby's diet. Your newborn's very first poop, called meconium, is greenish-black and tarry. Breastfed poop is yellowish, soft, and seedy; while formula-fed poop is thicker and brownish in color. Solid food poop has more substance and a stronger odor. Babies can be constipated and have diarrhea, just like adults, which will make their poop look different than usual. These photos give you the full scoop on newborn poop. (A note for the squeamish: This gallery contains real photos. )

What should baby poop look like?

Baby poop comes in a wide range of colors and a variety of textures, and deciphering what's normal and what's not can be puzzling to a new parent. If you're spending more time than you'd ever imagined staring quizzically at the contents of your baby's diaper, you're not alone! Bowel movements are one of the most common concerns parents ask their child's doctor about.

This baby poop chart will give you the full scoop on your newborn's bowel movements. The following photos and information will help you understand which baby poop colors are normal and which ones warrant a call to the doctor as your newborn grows, drinks breast milk or formula, and starts eating solids. You'll find out what's harmless, and when there may be a cause for concern.

If you still have questions about your baby's bowel movements after reading this guide, don't hesitate to call or email photos of any questionable baby stools to your child's provider. (And for more helpful tips on when to call your baby's pediatrician, as well as other great safety info, check out the Infant CPR, Choking, and Safety class from BabyCenter Courses.)

Note: These are pictures of real baby poop! Please view only if you're comfortable looking at them. If not, you can read this description without photos instead, or watch this animated video.

Newborn poop (meconium)

You may be surprised to learn that normal newborn poop doesn't look very normal at all. For your baby's first couple of bowel movements, expect to find a greenish-black, tarry, sticky sludge that kind of looks like motor oil when you open your newborn's diaper. Since meconium is made of mucus, amniotic fluid, dead cells, and other stuff your baby ingested in utero, it doesn't really smell – so you may not realize it's time for a diaper change.

When your baby is 2 to 4 days old, their poop will become lighter in color – sort of a yellowish green – and less sticky. This so-called transitional stool is a sign that they've started digesting early breast milk or formula and their intestinal tract is working just fine.

Photo credit: marima / Shutterstock.com

Breastfed baby poop

Normal breastfed baby poop, like as seen in this photo, is yellow or slightly green, and has a mushy or creamy consistency. It may be runny enough to resemble diarrhea, though baby diarrhea is usually very liquid in consistency. Breastfed poop typically looks like Dijon mustard and may be dotted with little seed-like flecks. Interestingly, it smells slightly sweet.

There are many shades of normal when it comes to breastfed baby poop. One you might see is a greener tone, which could signify that you ate something different than you normally do. If your baby isn't experiencing any other symptoms, there's no need to worry.

If you see bright green and frothy poop in your baby's diaper that almost looks like algae, they're probably getting too much foremilk – the low-calorie milk that comes first in a feeding – and not enough hindmilk, the higher-fat, super-nutritious stuff that comes near the end. It could mean that you're not feeding your baby long enough on each breast. To remedy this, start each new breastfeeding session on the breast you ended on the last time.

Formula-fed baby poop

Formula-fed babies have thick, pasty, peanut butter-like poop on the brown color spectrum. Its color ranges from tan-brown to yellow-brown or even greenish-brown.

The thicker consistency of formula is slightly harder to digest than breast milk, so some of its ingredients end up passing right through your baby's digestive system. Formula-fed baby poop is also more pungent than poop from breastfed babies, yet a little less pungent than poop from babies who are eating solid food, but you'll recognize the smell.

If at some point you decide to switch formula brands, expect the look – and feel – of your baby's poop to change. Its aroma might change, too.

Iron-fortified baby poop

Green baby poop is a sign of iron in your baby's formula. The iron in formula doesn't absorb as well as the iron in breast milk – hence the greenish hue. If you give your baby an iron supplement, their poop may turn dark green or almost black. This doesn't happen often, but it's normal.

One thing: If your baby's poop looks blackish and they're not taking an iron supplement, it's a good idea to call their doctor. Rarely, blood in infant stool can turn poop a black color, which is called melena. Your child's doctor can make sure there's no stomach bleeding to worry about.

Solid food baby stool

Once you start introducing your baby to solid foods – infant cereal, pureed bananas, and so on – you'll almost instantly notice a change in their output, especially if your baby is breastfed. Solid-food poop tends to be brown or dark brown and thicker than peanut butter, but still mushy. Get ready: It's also much smellier than exclusively breastfed poop.

Expect the consistency of your baby's poop to change depending on what they've recently eaten. Some bowel movements may look hard and pebble-like, while others can have that runny, mustard-like consistency of breastfed poops. There's nothing to worry about unless your baby seems to be straining or goes more than a few days without going at all.

Baby stool with partially digested food

Occasionally your baby's poop will have identifiable chunks of food in it or be tinged with a surprising hue of the rainbow, like red, orange, or dark blue – this isn't something you need to worry about. Red could mean beets, orange suggests carrots, and dark blue implies blueberries (you may even see tiny pieces of blueberry skin in there, too).

You're likely seeing this because certain foods are only partially digestible or travel so quickly through the intestines that they don't have time to completely break down. It also happens when your baby eats a lot of one food or doesn't chew a mouthful completely before they swallow.

The time to call the doctor is if your baby's poop consistently has undigested food in it. Your baby's doctor will check to make sure their intestines are properly absorbing food and nutrients.

Photo credit: Original Shutter / Shutterstock.com

Baby diarrhea

Newborn diarrhea is very runny and looks like it's made up of more water than solid food. It can be yellow, green, or brown, and often can seep or "explode" out of their diaper.

Diarrhea can be a sign of an infection or allergy. If it lasts for a while without being treated, it can lead to dehydration. Call the doctor if your baby:

Has signs of dehydration, such as crying without tears, dry lips, peeing less often than usual, or excess sleepiness
Has diarrhea that doesn't go away after a few days
Has visible blood or mucus in their diarrhea
Has a fever along with the diarrhea

Photo credit: nutthapol Samjai / Shutterstock.com

Constipated baby poop

If your baby's poop is hard and looks like little pebbles, they're probably constipated. Your baby may look visibly uncomfortable when they're pooping, and the poop may be tinged with blood from irritating the anus on the way out. One or two pebbly diapers isn't a concern, but if the constipation doesn't improve, your baby is irritable, or you see blood in their stool, it's best to call their doctor.

Constipation often happens in babies who are being introduced to solid foods, or it can be a sign that your baby isn't getting enough fiber in their diet. Your doctor may recommend giving your baby water, pear, or prune juice to help move things along.

Baby poop with mucus

Does your baby's diaper look like it's been slimed? Greenish poop streaked with shiny, glistening strings means there's mucus in it. This sometimes happens when a baby is especially drooly, since mucus in saliva often goes undigested. Drooling can be a sign that a tooth is about to pop.

Mucus in poop can also be a telltale sign of an infection or food allergy. Rarely, it could mean your baby isn't absorbing enough nutrients from breast milk or formula. If the mucus is accompanied by any other symptoms (such as diarrhea or a fever) or it shows up in your baby's diaper for two days or more, call their doctor to rule out any problems.

Photo credit: Katarzyna Uroda / Shutterstock.com

Blood in baby's poop

Seeing red in your baby's diaper can be frightening, to say the least. Many of the possible causes of blood in baby stool aren't serious, like small tears in the baby's anus from passing large poops, or a cow's milk allergy. (Despite its name, a cow's milk allergy is more of an intolerance, and most babies grow out of this by age 1. It will require you eliminating cow's milk from your diet, if you're breastfeeding, or switching your baby to a formula without cow's milk.)

Sometimes the blood in infant stool is bright red from bleeding closer to the surface, and sometimes it's black (which means it's been digested). Sometimes, red dye in food or medication can also turn stool slightly red.

Call your doctor if you notice:

Normal poop tinged with red blood, which is often a sign of a cow's milk allergy
Constipated poop with a hint of red blood, likely a result of tears in the anus or hemorrhoids
Diarrhea mixed with red blood, which can signal a bacterial infection

When black blood appears in a baby's diaper – usually in little flecks that look like black poppy or sesame seeds – it's often because your baby is breastfed and swallowing blood from your cracked and bleeding nipples. While this is a sign that you need some pain relief, it doesn't pose a threat to your baby. Still, it's best to call your baby's doctor to make sure it's not something more serious, like bleeding from their intestines.

Photo credit: Vadi Fuoco / Shutterstock.com

Chalky or white baby poop

Lots of seemingly frightening signs in your newborn's poop are nothing to worry about. Others, like white, grey, or pale-yellow stools, are good reason for concern. Pale stools can be a sign of biliary atresia – a blockage in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. Bile is the greenish fluid that helps us digest food and gives poop its brown color.

If your baby's stool looks especially pale, call their doctor right away. Biliary atresia is rare, but babies diagnosed with it need surgery to fix the blockage. The procedure works best when it's done before a baby reaches the 2-month mark.

Photo credit: © Holly Clark / Stocksy United

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Sources

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

Blank Children's Hospital. 2014. 12 Types of baby poop & what they mean (infographic). https://www.unitypoint.org/blankchildrens/article.aspx?id=40567710-74c7-4ef2-a040-847be9fbd35a [Accessed May 2022]

Cleveland Clinic. 2020. The color of baby poop and what it means. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-color-of-baby-poop-and-what-it-means-infographic/ [Accessed May 2022]

Healthy Child Manitoba. Undated. The scoop on poop. https://www.gov.mb.ca/healthychild/healthybaby/kits/scoop_on_poop.pdf [Accessed May 2022]

John Hopkins Children’s Center. Undated. Stool color guide. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/articles-and-answers/healthy-children/stool-color-guide [Accessed May 2022]

Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Undated. What can your child's poop color tell you? https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/johns-hopkins-childrens-center/what-we-treat/specialties/gastroenterology-hepatology-nutrition/stool-color-overview.html [Accessed May 2022]

Johns Hopkins Medicine. Undated. Biliary atresia. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/biliary-atresia [Accessed May 2022]

La Leche League Canada. 2015. Thursday tip: Explaining green breastmilk and green baby poop. https://www.lllc.ca/thursday-tip-explaining-green-breastmilk-and-green-baby-poop [Accessed May 2022]

Mayo Clinic. 2022. I’m breastfeeding my newborn and her bowel movements are yellow and mushy. Is this normal for baby poop? http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/expert-answers/baby-poop/faq-20057971 [Accessed May 2022]

National Library of Medicine Medline Plus. 2020. Constipation in infants and children. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003125.htm [Accessed May 2022]

Nationwide Children's Hospital. 2021. Newborn poop: Meconium and beyond. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2021/07/newborn-poop-meconium [Accessed May 2022]

Nemours KidsHealth. 2021. Diarrhea. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/diarrhea.html [Accessed May 2022]

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australia). 2019. All about baby poo. https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/news/all-about-baby-poo [Accessed May 2022]

Providence. Undated. Baby poop: What's normal? https://www.psjhmedgroups.org/Orange-County/Services/Pediatrics/Frequently-Asked-Health-Questions/Baby-Poop.aspx [Accessed May 2022]

Seattle Children's. 2022. Diarrhea (0-12 months). https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/diarrhea-0-12-months/ [Accessed May 2022]

Seattle Children's. 2022. Stools – blood in. https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/stools-blood-in/ [Accessed May 2022]

Seattle Children's. 2022. Stools – unusual color. https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/stools-unusual-color/ [Accessed May 2022]

University of Utah Health. 2018. The poop on poop: Constipation in kids. https://healthcare.utah.edu/the-scope/shows.php?shows=0_v590hptx [Accessed May 2022]

Stephanie Watson

Stephanie Watson is a freelance health and lifestyle writer based in Rhode Island. When she’s not busy writing, Watson loves to travel, try new cuisines, and attend as many concerts, shows, and plays as she can fit into her busy schedule.

How often should a newborn poop?

Yes, it's normal if your baby is pooping after every single feeding. You’ll quickly discover that when it comes to newborns, poop frequency comes in a wide range of normal.

Some babies are just more productive poopers than others. It’s perfectly okay to end every feeding with a diaper change, or to not see a single bowel movement for a few days. Your baby pooping a lot probably isn’t an issue, unless you’re changing three or more extra-watery diapers a day. In that case, it could be diarrhea, which is something to let your baby's doctor know about.

How often should a newborn poop?

It varies. Poop habits differ a lot from baby to baby. The average frequency is one or more bowel movements daily. But some newborns produce five or more dirty diapers a day in their first 2 weeks of life, while others go for days without pooping.

It’s not unusual for newborns to poop a lot, since they spend most of their waking hours eating. In general, breastfed babies poop more than formula-fed ones. In fact, your baby may poop while nursing and again once they’re done – which is why you may want to wait a few minutes after you're finished breastfeeding before swooping in with a clean diaper.

Because breastfed poops contain more liquid, they’ll look more watery than the stools of formula-fed babies. (See real photos of the different kinds of baby poop here.)

When a breastfed newborn poops after every feeding during the first few weeks, take it as a good sign – it means they’re getting plenty of milk. Even though formula-fed babies may have less frequent bowel movements than breastfed babies, it's normal for them to poop after every feeding as well.

The frequency of your baby's bowel movements may start to slow down by the time they're around 6 weeks old, but some babies continue their pattern of pooping after every feeding for much longer. (It’s not uncommon for some 1-year-olds to poop five times a day.)

How long can a baby go without pooping?

If your baby hasn’t had a bowel movement in a few days, there’s no need to immediately fear the big “C” (aka, constipation). Babies can go days, or even a week, without producing a dirty diaper. A breastfed baby can go even longer – as long as two weeks without pooping if they haven’t started on solid foods yet.

If the bowel movements your baby does make are soft, constipation probably isn’t an issue. Exclusively breastfed babies rarely get constipated because breastmilk is an economical food. Your baby gets just what they need, with little waste leftover to poop out.

True constipation in babies typically happens from a change in diet, a lack of fluids, or an illness. The telltale sign is hard, dry stools. If your baby is constipated, they may get extra fussy and look like they’re straining uncomfortably when they try to go.

Should I ever be worried about my baby pooping a lot?

Generally, if your baby's bowel movements are fairly consistent and they’re acting like their usual self, frequent poops aren't a cause for concern. However, if there's a sudden change in your baby's pooping pattern and their stool becomes watery, check with their doctor. Very watery bowel movements could be a sign of an infection.

Call the doctor if your baby has any of these other poop-related symptoms:

Pulling their legs up to their stomach (a sign that their tummy hurts)
Straining to have a bowel movement
Poop that looks like small, hard pebbles or is extra watery
Irritability
A swollen belly
Blood in their poop

If my baby is pooping a lot, are they more prone to diaper rash?

Babies who have frequent bowel movements can be more susceptible to diaper rash. Constant contact with stool can irritate the sensitive skin on their bottom.

The best way to prevent diaper rash is to keep your baby’s bottom clean and dry. To start, change their diapers more often. Wash their skin clean with warm water during each change.

You may want to coat the area with a diaper rash cream or a product containing zinc oxide or petroleum jelly to create a barrier. And instead of putting on a new diaper right away, let your baby go diaper-less for a little while each day so their bottom can fully air dry. If these tips don’t relieve the diaper rash, give your baby's doctor a call.

Read more:

A new parent's guide to baby poop

Age-by-age guide to feeding your baby

How much formula newborns and babies need

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Children's stool color: how to understand what is normal and what is not

Zainiddinova Rabiyat Salakhiddinovna

Candidate of Medical Sciences, pediatrician, neonatologist, specialist in vaccine prevention

Stool in healthy children does not always look the same. The state of the chair usually depends on the age, type of feeding, the period of development of the child. What does normal breastfeeding look like? We will describe the acceptable options for color, smell, consistency and find out how the baby's stool changes within the normal range or when there are reasons for concern. Candidate of Medical Sciences, pediatrician Rabiyat Salakhiddinovna Zainiddinova advises.

- Rabiyat Salakhiddinovna, what are the main differences between the stool of a newborn on breast, artificial and mixed feeding?

- For breastfed babies, when feeding with an adapted formula, and with a combination of these two types of food, a different type of stool is allowed. For example, a breastfed baby (HB) feels comfortable with a stool frequency of up to 5-8 times a day, and this is the norm. On artificial feeding (IV), the baby can empty the intestines up to 1 time per day or even once every 2 days, and this is also a variant of the norm. The color of the baby's stool is also different: a mushy yellow stool in a baby on breast milk and a darker and more dense, thick stool in a baby on a mixture. On mixed feeding, the variability is higher, here both mushy and watery stools, and a variety of colors will be the norm.

— How does a child's stool change from birth to a year?

- Immediately after birth, the stool is very dark (black) in color and is not exactly feces, but rather a mixture of desquamated epithelium, bile fragments, amniotic fluid and prenatal hair. It's called meconium. Such a dense dark stool can last up to 3 days, then a transitional stool appears - lighter, with the possible inclusion of green.

Green stools in infants are due to the high content of bilirubin, which is normal for the first months of life. As a rule, by the end of the first month, the stool acquires a stable, permanent appearance - it is mushy, yellowish, with small whitish patches.

- What color can a child's chair be?

- Normal stool color can be all shades of orange and brown: mustard yellow, light brown, brown stool in babies is normal. The intensity of the presence of green color in the stool depends on the concentration of bilirubin in it, the state of the intestinal microbiota, the presence of food allergies or helminthic invasion. Very dense and dark stools are more typical for formula-fed babies, but it also becomes lighter and softer with the introduction of complementary foods into the diet.

If the chair does not fit into the range of familiar shades, it is worth taking a closer look at the condition of the baby. Is he too restless - is he not capricious, is his stomach swollen, has the color of his urine changed. Bloodshot, black or light-colored stools in a child are not the norm and a reason to seek medical help as soon as possible.

Almost black baby stool - this color is typical only for meconium, for the stool of a newborn older than 1 week this shade is atypical.
Gray stool resembling putty (greasy) - most often these are manifestations of bile outflow disorders, often fermentopathy and, as a result, impaired formation of full-fledged feces.
Red stool - often a manifestation of changes in the diet (with the introduction of beets, prunes). But it is necessary to clearly differentiate between red stools and stools interspersed with red or bloody.

Checklist: alarming symptoms that should alert parents, require an assessment of the child's condition and supervision of a pediatrician

Unusual stool colors
Unusual inclusions in the stool
Foam chair
Fetid chair
Loose stools with mucus
Blood streaks in stool
Watery stool (stool like water)

- Excluding color, how to determine the presence of pathology in babies by stool?

Baby foamy stool

- It can be an indicator of a deficiency of the normal microbiota, when the physiological process of digestion of food with the participation of microflora is disturbed and the stool changes its consistency. The condition may be transient, not affecting the quality of life of the child, or it may be a manifestation of an intestinal infection if accompanied by fever, anxiety, pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

Infant diarrhea

- Diarrhea in children during the first months of life can be caused by an infectious cause or be not associated with infections.

Infant constipation

- Constipation can begin to form from the first month of life. The pediatrician should be alerted by such facts as the release of meconium in newborns for more than two days (usually the discharge occurs on the first day).

If a mother notices difficulty in passing stools during the first month of life, it is imperative to pay the attention of a pediatrician so as not to miss the symptoms of any serious diseases.

Occult blood in the feces of a child

- There is a medical analysis of feces for occult blood: it shows the presence of microveins of blood that cannot be diagnosed visually. Why is it important not to miss this moment? If anal fissures give bright, visible streaks of blood in the stool of an infant, then hidden blood in his feces may be a sign of gastrointestinal reactions.

When assigning a small patient an examination for occult blood in the feces, the doctor looks for possible damage to the integrity of the gastric or intestinal mucosa. In children, due to the tenderness of their mucosa, such damage can be triggered by the listed allergens. Therefore, it is important to exclude a possible risk factor for the development or increase of food allergy.

Stool with mucus and smell

- Speaking of a large amount of mucus in the stool of a baby, you need to remember what mucus is. These are stretching secretions that are the product of the work of the intestinal mucosa: this is how it protects itself from an aggressive acidic or alkaline environment in the process of digesting food. Moreover, a lack of mucus can provoke constipation, although mothers are most often worried about the situation when there is too much mucus in the diaper.

What to look for if there is a lot of clear or white mucus in the feces of a child

For mothers, an isolated abundance of mucus in the feces should not be an alarming symptom, because this in itself is not a full-fledged “red flag”.

Pieces of undigested food in feces

- For many parents, pieces of undigested food in the feces of a child are an alarming sign. They believe that if a child has not digested something, it means that he has some kind of stomach problems and he will not receive enough nutrients.

Causes of small particles of food in the stool

Bad smell

- Unpleasant odor, that is, an odor that is uncharacteristic of normal baby stools, can appear for several reasons.

A sharp fetid odor of feces is due to an infectious process.
Unpleasant putrid odor against the background of changes in the consistency of the stool appears with a deficiency of enzymes.
A different smell and a different structure of feces in one bowel movement will be with constipation, when first a dense fecal stone comes out, and then formed feces.

- Rabiyat Salakhiddinovna, what symptoms may appear along with a change in the color of the stool - what do they talk about and when can they be considered the norm ?.

- As a rule, the variability of shades of the stool itself is acceptable. Dangerous colours: brightly colored blood-streaked, black, greyish-white stools in a child.

When are some of the symptoms associated with a change in stool acceptable?

- What to do to normalize the baby's stool?

- From a pediatric point of view, it is necessary to mention the presence of surgical diseases in children - those that in pediatrics go under the general name "acute abdomen". This is a whole list of acute surgical conditions at an early age, which are manifested primarily by abdominal pain and unusual behavior of the baby.

Download pdf

Checklist: when parents should not worry, and when to see a doctor

The child cries very insistently, loudly and piercingly, periods of calm are short, it is not possible to calm him down immediately, or he calms down for a while and begins to sob again; or the condition is accompanied by fever, vomiting, general malaise, stool retention, or uncharacteristic heavy loose stools in infants. In this case, you need to contact a pediatric surgeon and undergo an abdominal ultrasound to exclude surgical pathology.
If the disease is caused by the course of a viral infection with abdominal pain syndrome (abdominal pain), then this is a manifestation of the intestinal syndrome on the background of a viral infection. Temperature, colic, flatulence and general malaise are allowed here. Despite the fact that the child's condition is significantly normalized after taking antipyretic drugs, in any case, it requires examination and control of a pediatrician.
Knowing about allergic reactions to certain types of foods, the children's diet is expanded gradually. If a child has mild symptoms such as a change in stool patterns or signs of discomfort such as a single bout of vomiting after taking a new product, then the product may have been introduced early and should be postponed for the time being. Parents need to observe the condition of the child, it is not necessary to immediately consult a doctor.
During the period of teething, the baby is disturbed by temperature, colic, flatulence, frequent bouts of crying. In this case, the usual stool may change - a stool appears with an abundance of mucus, but without a fetid odor and foam impurities. And this is a situation that is quite acceptable by age, which can be observed by parents and does not require immediate contact with a pediatrician.

Checklist: color and consistency of stool in infants, norm and deviations

Every time, taking off the diaper, willy-nilly, the mother examines its contents. Of course, children's health is manifested by many symptoms, and children's stool can also serve as a marker of normal digestion. However, it must be remembered that the characteristics of the stool are extremely variable, they cannot always be the same, and this does not indicate the presence of pathology in the child. But if the baby's stool has not been formed for several days or weeks, retains an unusual uncharacteristic smell, or has pronounced deviations from generally accepted norms, then it is recommended to consult a pediatrician.

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional. For feeding children from birth. The product is certified.

#Baby Digestion #breast-feeding #baby formula #Lure #popular articles #what's in the diaper

What should be the chair of a newborn on artificial and breastfeeding

Kizino Polina Aleksandrovna

pediatrician, perinatal psychologist

Green, frothy, thick stools - is this normal for a baby? What should be the normal stool of the baby and how to distinguish age-related changes from warning signs that require a visit to the doctor.

— Polina Alexandrovna, does the baby's stool differ on breast, mixed and artificial feeding?

— Normally, the stool in children of the first year of life on different diets is different.

- Newborn stool - what is considered normal?

— A newborn — a child of the first 28 days of life — undergoes a restructuring of the body and the transition from intrauterine to extrauterine independent life. And his chair will seem strange and unusual to many mothers - but this is not a pathology.

Original feces - meconium - has the consistency of a thick ink paste of dark green, almost black color.
2-3 days - transitional stool - partly dark green, with time it becomes mushy.
4-5 days - scattered stool - it includes a liquid part, white undigested lumps, sometimes streaks of mucus.
Days 12-14 — from the end of the second week, normal stool begins to form, which will remain unchanged in the future.

Every newborn goes through transitional states, because he begins to receive milk nutrition, proteins and fats enter his intestines. Naturally, the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract adjusts to the new nature of nutrition, and stool disorders may occur. In addition, the intestinal microflora undergoes changes: by the end of the first - the beginning of the second week, the pathogenic flora of the newborn is replaced by normal flora, and bifidobacteria generally begin to play a dominant role. These factors lead to significant changes in the chair, which should not be scared.

— What determines the shape and type of feces of a newborn and an infant?

- The nature of the stool depends on the characteristics of the child's digestive tract and the nutrition of the nursing mother - the baby may tolerate some foods better or worse.

If the baby is malnourished, the stool is less frequent, the consistency thickens.
If the mother diluted the mixture incorrectly - added more or less water - there will be a thickening or thinning of the stool.
If a child's drinking regimen is disturbed - the temperature is elevated and he loses a lot of moisture, or there is a heat, and liquid reserves are not replenished, the stool may become more dense.

— Does the regularity of the stool in the first year of life change from month to month?

— The older the child gets, the less frequent bowel movements occur.

A newborn child has up to 8-10 stools. A bowel movement is possible after or during each meal - and this will be the norm.
Stools at 2 months normally have adequate intervals of 3-3.5 hours during the day and 4 hours at night. In the future, the nature of the chair reflects the nutrition of the child.
Stool from 5-6 months - dense 1-2 times a day or 1 time in two days; it is more decorated and looks like an adult's chair.

— Does the stool change during feeding?

— The baby's stool normally becomes denser with the start of the introduction of complementary foods. This does not happen immediately - complementary foods are introduced gradually, in microdoses, and when the portion is brought to the age norm, the stool changes its character more clearly. If complementary foods are introduced quickly with large doses, the child's body will not have time to cope with the new food and react with constipation. With intolerance and an allergic reaction, after the introduction of new products, it is possible to thin the stool with the appearance of streaks of blood or mucus - this is an alarm signal that requires a medical examination. For complementary foods, you need to choose foods according to the age of the child, because not everything is suitable for the first acquaintance with new food.

— How often should a baby have a bowel movement?

- For a small child who receives only milk nutrition, the stool rate is a floating concept. It is necessary to build on what is normal for a particular child: this applies to the regularity, consistency, and color of the stool.

Chair norm

A chair eight to ten times a day is the norm, if the newborn is comfortable, he is calm and he always has such a frequency of stool.
A chair once a day or once every two days is the norm, if the child is calm, he does not strain constantly and poops on his own.
Stool with undigested lumps is normal if the child's condition is in order.

Abnormal chair

If a child has a stable stool eight times a day for two months, but suddenly he stops pooping within one or two days, this is not the norm.
The chair is stable once a day, but suddenly the bowel movements occur for the sixth time in the last four hours - this is not the norm.

Any deviation from the norm and anxiety of the child require examination by a pediatrician to rule out pathology.

The stool norm for a child of the first year of life is quite wide - its color and consistency may be different.