When a child's temperature rises, a runny nose and cough begin, parents understand that it is most likely a cold. If your cheeks turn red or a rash appears, you may have an allergy. Well, the best way to tell about the state of a baby’s digestive system is his stool. But it’s not so easy to answer the question unequivocally of what a newborn’s stool should be like.
At birth, the newborn's intestines are cleared of meconium. These are sticky, odorless accumulations of black-green color, which indicate the normal functioning of the baby’s intestines. Afterwards, his stool depends on nutrition. We will tell you in the article what normal stool is like for a baby, why it comes in different colors and what “secrets” are hidden in a baby’s diaper.
The effect of food on baby's stool
from mother's milk changes color from dark green to golden green. This is a transitional feces, which is formed on the 3-5th day, until milk replaces colostrum. Afterwards, the stool is more uniform, acquires a yellow color, may have whitish lumps, and a faint smell of sour milk. It happens quite often. But we hasten to reassure parents: if the baby is gaining weight, then bowel movements after each feeding should not cause alarm. As the baby grows up, the stool will take shape and become denser and more regular.
Normal stool during breastfeeding:
- yellow, slightly greenish color;
- mushy consistency;
- sour smell;
- up to 6-10 bowel movements per day from birth, 1-2 times - closer to a year.
- greenish, yellowish-brownish;
- smear-like consistency;
- more pronounced odor;
- stool once every three days is also normal.
Normal stool color for a baby: shades of yellow, brown, green.
Feces on formula milk The less mixture in supplementary feeding, the yellower the stool. Babies who grow up on formula feeding have fewer bowel movements. And if there is no restless behavior, this indicates a high degree of nutritional absorption. Month after month, a child's stool will become more and more like an adult's stool.
Normal stool with artificial and mixed feeding:
From solid food, the stool changes even more towards the adult, it thickens and turns yellow-brown, but can take on the colors of the food that the child eats while the body adjusts to digesting new foods. Do not be afraid of introducing complementary foods; this is the norm for a cheerful and active baby. But we note the following: accumulations of white lumps of undigested food can “scream” about the introduction of complementary foods in too large volumes, which children’s digestion cannot completely cope with. But foamy, odorous stool with mucus already indicates that complementary feeding is started too early or that these products are not suitable.
How does complementary feeding affect a baby's stool?
- depending on the color of the food, the stool takes on different shades;
- the semi-liquid pulp becomes denser;
- possible increased colic, flatulence;
- vegetables usually cause loose stools, and cereals strengthen them.
An important point is that deviations from the usual frequency and appearance of stool do not always signal illness. And many parents have this experience. However, if changes worsen and new symptoms appear, please consult a doctor.
Colorless, black, blood-streaked stool, a lot of mucus and foam in the baby's stool - it is best to call an ambulance without waiting for a pediatrician's visit.
Reasons for changes in a small child's stool:
- insufficient maturity of the digestive organs, lack of enzymes;
- composition of food for a nursing woman;
- lack of breast milk;
- intolerance to infant formula, complementary foods;
- mother and child taking certain medications;
- physiological jaundice of the newborn;
- imbalance of intestinal microbiota;
- intestinal inflammation;
- viral, bacterial infections;
- food allergy.
Before the age of one year, green and yellow, looser or thicker stools can be either normal or pathological. Frequency and impurities that should not be in the stool of a healthy baby help to distinguish one condition from another.
When to worry and figure out what went wrong:
- white-gray or black stool;
- slurry mixed with mucus and blood;
- green watery stools with foam;
- bowel movements more than 12-15 times a day;
- rare stools: once every 3-5 days or less;
- completely liquid yellow stool with no solid particles;
- gagging in combination with diarrhea, fever;
- the child does not eat well, does not gain or loses weight;
- severe irritation and diaper rash in the diaper area;
- the child is uncommunicative, restless, and whiny.
What is the stool of breastfed babies?
It is important to understand that in the first month after birth, babies have bowel movements after almost every feeding (normally 5-8 times a day). The consistency of the stool is liquid, the color is bright yellow with yellow-whitish inclusions (lumps) and a slight milky odor.
Starting from the 2nd month, the general characteristics of the stool do not change, but emptying occurs on average 3 to 5 times a day.
From the 3rd month, stools become less liquid, acquire some homogeneity, and there are significantly fewer lumps in them. The color characteristics also change - the feces become brown-yellow or yellow-green.
Green stool in a newborn
Why a baby has green stools cannot be answered with certainty. Unnaturally green stools against the background of increased gas formation and a body rash can signal disturbances in the intestinal microflora and dysbacteriosis. Green, foamy stool in infants is often associated with lactose intolerance. Stools containing staphylococci and streptococci will also be green and foamy. When an infection occurs, the baby usually vomits, has a fever, and suffers from intestinal colic, and the first aid in this case will be an urgent medical examination. Medicinal mixtures and iron supplements also give the stool a greenish tint.
Pathology information
Stool as an indicator of the gastrointestinal tract condition of a newborn
A disease in which episodes of loose stool occur is called diarrhea. This may be a chronic or acute pathological condition.
Most often, symptoms of diarrhea are observed within several days after the onset of the disorder, but the clinical picture of the disease depends on the etiology.
The main problem is significant fluid loss from the body (dehydration). In infants, this complication can cause death, so it is important to stop the manifestations of diarrhea and replenish fluid in the body.
Main forms of the disease:
- Short-term watery diarrhea.
- Brief bloody diarrhea.
- Chronic diarrhea.
Diarrhea can be caused by any dysfunction of the intestines. Typically, this pathological condition is associated with impaired absorption of fluid in the large intestine, which leads to softening of the stool.
The cause of such a functional disorder may be a viral infection, poisoning, developmental abnormality, or another condition. Diarrhea can also be a manifestation of a more serious digestive disease.
Causes of diarrhea in infants
Loose stools are not typical for healthy children, with the exception of newborns and infants of the second or third month. If at this age the child is calm, eats and sleeps well, and his weight gain is normal, then loose stools are not a cause for concern. Diarrhea can be caused by antibiotics, infectious diseases, early or excessive introduction of juices into the diet.
If diarrhea occurs during the introduction of a new product, then the product is canceled, and breastfeeding or artificial feeding is maintained. Alarming symptoms - apathy and drowsiness from dehydration, quiet and weak crying of the child - are beyond the norm and should be discussed with a doctor.
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What happens to a baby's stool during the introduction of complementary foods?
Stool color isn't the only warning sign
From the 4th to the 6th month of birth, additional foods should be included in the baby’s diet. This helps to gradually adapt his gastrointestinal tract to more “adult” food.
Due to the introduction of complementary foods, the baby's stool changes its characteristics; it becomes darker and more mush-like.
As a rule, after the introduction of additional nutrition in children who previously suffered from constipation, bowel movements return to normal.
The baby begins to drink juices and eat vegetable and fruit purees. Pumpkin, apple, peach and plum, which are contained in baby foods, contain enough pectin and fiber that optimize the functioning of the child’s gastrointestinal tract. In the period from 4 to 6 months, bowel movements can already be once a day.
Causes of constipation in a newborn
Constipation in a newborn is often physiological; it occurs due to the immaturity of the digestive system and unformed reflex bowel movements. And it doesn't need to be treated. But if independent stool is absent for three days or more, the tummy is tense, the child pushes hard and cries, and has lost his appetite, then this is constipation, which is no longer the norm.
According to doctors, constipation from breast milk is rare, for example, when the baby is malnourished. This is also a typical condition on artificial nutrition, especially in the first ten days of introducing the formula, while the body adapts to foreign milk protein. However, thanks to the improvement of production technologies and the approximation of the contents of infant formula to the composition of breast milk, the stool of children on IV may be the same as that of breastfed children.
Symptoms
Dysbacteriosis is the cause of tummy problems
Manifestations of the disease depend on the cause of its occurrence and the form of its course. The main sign of diarrhea is the passage of loose stool in a child. If attacks persist throughout the day or longer, symptoms of dehydration occur.
Main features:
- Rare urination.
- Fussiness and irritability.
- Refusal to eat.
- Dryness of the oral mucosa.
- Lack of tears in colic.
- Marked drowsiness and slowness.
- Loss of skin elasticity.
- Fever.
- The appearance of blood in the stool.
- Vomit.
- Abdominal muscle cramps.
- Dizziness from loss of fluid.
If these symptoms appear, you should contact your pediatrician as soon as possible.
How to normalize your baby's stool
In case of diarrhea, severe constipation, pathological inclusions in the stool, redness and microcracks around the baby's anus, it is important to contact a medical facility or call a doctor at home. You should not buy medications yourself to solve the problem. Even a regular enema, gas tube and suppositories for constipation are given for medical purposes.
You should also not try to change the mixture yourself - you may need nutritional therapy. When offering a mixture, the doctor expects a specific effect from it and takes into account the composition of the formula: microelements in forms digestible by infants, the presence of ingredients that improve intestinal microbiota and digestion, for example, milk fat, prebiotics and probiotics. MAMAKO® baby food made with goat milk meets these expectations. It is not suitable for children with a confirmed allergy to milk protein, but in general, the digestion process with goat milk is easier, which contributes to the formation of soft stools - the baby is in a good mood, is interested in toys, actively communicates, and sleeps peacefully.
On the MAMAKO® website, pediatricians talk about how newborn digestion works. There you can also download the “What’s in a baby’s diaper” leaflet.
Anatomical features
If the child is calm, there is no need to worry
The human digestive tract begins with the oral cavity, from where food enters the gastrointestinal tract through the esophagus.
In the stomach, food masses undergo incomplete decomposition under the influence of acidic juice. Also in this section there is a slight absorption of water. The final processing of substrates occurs in the small intestine, where proteins, carbohydrates and fats are also absorbed.
Diarrhea is most often associated with the functioning of the large intestine. The main function of this section of the digestive tract is the absorption of water and the formation of feces.
The lining of the small intestine may become partially impermeable to water in response to a certain pathological factor, which leads to the release of loose stools. Normally, stool contains a small amount of water, since the intestines are able to absorb up to 2/3 of the liquid received with food.
Diarrhea also disrupts another important function of the organ – the absorption of vitamins. Thus, chronic diarrhea in a child can lead to hypovitaminosis.
When talking about children under one year old, it is necessary to take into account the development of intestinal microflora. In adults, the colon constantly contains bacterial colonies consisting of beneficial and neutral microorganisms. Beneficial bacteria help absorb vitamins and fiber, while neutral bacteria do not cause any harm to the body.
When the intestinal microbiome is disturbed, dysbacteriosis, harmful microorganisms appear in the lumen of the organ, interfering with the absorption of water. The processes of formation of the gut microbiome begin immediately after birth. During this period, bacterial colonies are unstable, so diarrhea in infants is often associated with this feature.
