Stool in a baby: normal options for breastfeeding and artificial feeding. Fetid and putrid odor of feces in an adult

Often, parents inadequately evaluate their infant's stool, referring to the criteria for artificial feeding. This leads to errors in the nutrition of mother and child, as well as to incorrect and unfounded treatment.

Features of stool in infants

A breastfed baby's stool can be anything. Unlike a newborn who is on artificial formula, the quality and quantity of a baby's stool changes regularly. The determining role in this case is played by the age and behavior of the children.

In the first week, newborns have stool at least 3 times a day, sometimes the number reaches 12. If there is no stool for more than a day, this indicates that the baby is not receiving enough milk.

After 6 weeks, the baby usually begins to have fewer bowel movements. However, some continue to go to the toilet after each feeding. There is nothing unusual about this. Much depends on the diet of the nursing mother, the number of feedings and even the psychological state of the baby.

During this period, it is allowed to have no bowel movements for up to a week if the baby behaves calmly and gains weight normally. The consistency and color of the stool varies. At the same time, the smell is often sour milk or there is no smell at all. White lumps and a small amount of mucus are also possible.

With the introduction of complementary foods after six months, stool occurs less frequently and decreases to 1-2 times a day. Please note that color and consistency are greatly influenced by complementary foods.

If before or during bowel movements the baby cries and behaves restlessly. Changes in behavior and well-being, changes in the appearance of a newborn are a reason for increased attention to the baby’s digestion.

Color

Infant feces can be of different shades: bright and light yellow, orange, light and dark green, light brown. What affects color:

• Type of feeding. When breastfeeding, the stool will be green;
• Medicines that mother takes. Digestion reacts to antibiotics, activated carbon and drugs that contain iron or dyes. The stool becomes much darker than usual and may even turn black. Black stools don't mean anything bad!;
• Start of complementary feeding. The color is influenced by the foods that the mother begins to feed the baby. At the beginning of complementary feeding, the stool turns green. There may be yellow, white or green inclusions;
• The baby does not digest breast milk well, which causes green or orange stools;
• Bilirubin is a bile pigment that appears due to the destruction of blood proteins. It gives stool a yellow-brown or orange tint. This reaction occurs in 70% of babies. It goes away without treatment, since bilirubin is independently eliminated from the body through urine and feces;
• . If an imbalance occurs in the intestinal microflora, the stool becomes lighter. However, feces acquire light shades even during teething.

Pay special attention if your baby has white stool (discolored stool)! This is a symptom of hepatitis! This disease is rare in children in the first two years of life, but has an unfavorable prognosis. Therefore, if your baby’s stool is discolored, consult a doctor immediately!

If only the color of a newborn changes, but the smell, consistency and presence of impurities remain the same, then the problem is in the type of food.

Consistency

The consistency of stool in infants also varies. It is mostly liquid, because for the first six months of life, the baby receives liquid milk food. With artificial or mixed feeding, the stool is thicker and darker.

But how can you tell if your baby has normal loose stools or diarrhea? In a newborn if:

• The stool is both loose and watery;
• The frequency of bowel movements increases;
• The stool has an unpleasant odor and a distinctive green or yellow color;
• The baby's temperature rises;
• Vomiting begins;
• There is a lot of foam and mucus in the diaper, there are streaks of blood;
• The baby is lethargic and weak.

However, yellow or green stool mixed with foam or mucus does not always mean diarrhea. Always look at the baby's condition. If weakness, fever, or increased gas formation appear, then you should sound the alarm. If the baby sleeps well and feels cheerful, then there is no reason to worry.

Impurities

The presence of impurities in the stool is normal if the baby feels well. However, if you have a fever, loss of appetite or weight, be sure to visit a doctor.

Types of impurities:

• White lumps are particles of curdled milk that appear when the baby overeats. The digestive system simply cannot cope with the volume of food during feeding. In addition, indigestible food often appears after the start of complementary feeding. This leads to rapid weight gain in the baby.;
• Mucus is present in the stool of every newborn in small quantities. An increase in mucus indicates the beginning of the inflammatory process. This occurs due to improper breastfeeding, inappropriate formula, overfeeding, taking medications, early introduction of complementary foods and other reasons;
• Foam is a functional disorder that does not indicate any disease or pathology. Foam appears due to colic or increased gas production in the baby. However, excessive foam may be a symptom of dysbiosis or intestinal infection;
• Blood is a serious symptom that requires medical attention. This is often an indicator of dermatitis, rectal fissure, inflammation or intestinal pathology, or protein allergy.

Frequency

In the first month of breastfeeding, stool occurs after every meal. Then the frequency is reduced by 2-4 times, the baby can generally start going to the “toilet” once a day or two. This is due to the renewal of breast milk.

During this period, the baby is capricious and sometimes refuses to breastfeed. This is a temporary phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. If there is no bowel movement for 2-3 days, but there is no discomfort during bowel movements, and the baby does not lose weight, then the delay is not constipation.

Signs in a newborn:

• Difficult bowel movements;
• Retention of stool for more than 1.5 days;
• Significant discomfort during bowel movements.

By the way, constipation is rare during breastfeeding. They are typical for newborns on artificial formulas. However, if constipation occurs in a baby, then pay attention to the diet of the nursing mother. With this problem, plums, dried apricots and prunes will help perfectly if the newborn does not have allergies. And remember how much to use!

A massage will also help. But with the use of medications it is better to wait. Before taking medications, be sure to consult your doctor!

Is this normal or is it time to see a doctor?

Normal stool

Needs attention

To the doctor!

How to normalize stool

If there are minor irregularities in the baby's stool, and they do not require a visit to the doctor, then you can adjust the stool yourself. First of all, a baby’s stool is affected by the nutrition of the nursing mother.

How to adjust a chair:

• Include fermented milk products, dried fruits, and vegetable dishes in your menu. If your baby is constipated, avoid eating nuts, fatty cheeses, flour products, white bread, strong tea and coffee;
• Drink more fluids. The minimum norm is 2.5 liters per day;
• Continue breastfeeding for as long as possible. As practice shows, children on artificial formula suffer more from digestive disorders, colic and constipation;
• Introduce new foods into your diet gradually and in small doses. Carefully monitor your baby's reaction, as such food can cause allergies, colic, and bowel problems;
• Give your baby a tummy massage regularly. Stroke your stomach in a clockwise circular motion;
• Encourage your baby to engage in active movements and games. This will improve intestinal contractions.

These recommendations will help not only improve your bowel habits, but also prevent many problems. Therefore, even if the newborn’s stool is normal, the methods will be a good prevention.

In this article:

Immediately after giving birth, young parents face a lot of problems. It is necessary to accustom the baby to the breast, constantly change his diapers, give him massages, bathe him, and monitor his temperature. On top of this is the struggle with drowsiness and despair caused by a lack of understanding of the reasons for the child’s crying.

Any change in the color of stool causes panic, but often it is not justified. Stool in newborns can change in appearance, degree of mass density, and smell almost every day; you should not get upset right away, because this may be a variant of the norm.

You should know how the stool of a baby who is breastfed and mixed or bottle-fed differs. The first weeks of life are characterized by a gradual change in the color and consistency of stool, which continues to change depending on the type of feeding, its frequency, and duration. The introduction of juices or purees into the baby’s diet also has a direct effect on the baby’s bowel movements.

The color and smell of feces: what they should be

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In a newborn, feces do not have any specific odor; they are black or have a greenish color. At the same time, the stool is liquid and viscous. The child often defecates, but this can only be noticed by looking into the diaper. That is why doctors recommend that during the first months when the baby cries, first check the cleanliness of the diaper, and only then start feeding. Original feces (also called meconium) consists of everything that the child swallowed along with amniotic fluid during the months of stay in the mother’s womb. The appearance of meconium in a newborn indicates the normal functioning of the newborn's intestines.

In the period from 2 to 6 days from the date of birth, the baby’s stool may change its color to grayish or gray-green, and become thicker (the consistency of a semi-liquid ointment). This is typical for all healthy children during adaptation to a new way of getting food. From the second week, the stool becomes yellowish-mustard in color, sometimes brown with a faint sour-milk odor. The consistency of the bulk is liquid, with small white grains. Such stool indicates the normal functioning of the child’s gastrointestinal tract. The norm is a slight presence of mucus or a green tint with stable weight gain.

A variant of the norm is the case when the child’s stool is light brown or very dark brown. The presence of small greenish inclusions is allowed. In terms of consistency, there are two requirements for the contents of the diaper - it should not be liquid like water, and the feces should not be too dense. The smell may be pungent and unpleasant. This situation is typical for children who are mixed-fed. Similar indicators appear with the introduction of complementary foods.

It happens that pieces of undigested food are clearly visible in the diaper. If this occurs rarely, then there is no need to worry. Depending on the food, the stool may turn orange or burgundy. This is typical after eating carrots or beets.

Bowel movement frequency

At the age of up to 6 weeks, when breastfeeding, the baby has bowel movements 4-12 times during the day. With age, the frequency of bowel movements will decrease significantly. By two months, a child can delight his parents with fragrant stools both 4 times a day and 1-2 times every five days. These are standard indicators; a slight deviation in one direction or the other, provided that the color, smell and consistency comply with the norm, is considered acceptable.

Young parents sometimes confuse normal loose stools with diarrhea. Even if the child defecates once a day, but very copiously (even to the point of leaking feces from the diaper), there is no need to sound the alarm. In some children, the intestines work in such a way that bowel movements occur rarely, but in large volumes. This is not a pathological change. You should be concerned if bowel movements occur more than 12 times a day. In this case, the feces will not just be liquid, but watery; they will flow out from above, below, and along the sides of the diaper.

The absence of stool in a child for 4-5 days in a row, followed by successful bowel movements and with normal consistency of the mass, should not become a reason for changing the daily menu. This is a variant of the norm, and therefore excludes the possibility of any mechanical influence on the child in order to speed up emptying. Under no circumstances should you give your baby an enema, as this can cause a weakening of the normal reflex activity of the corresponding muscles. It is not recommended to try to help the child by irritating the anus with a thermometer or a bar of soap (although grandmothers will insist on using these methods).

What feces indicate pathology?

Cases when the baby's stool is of normal color, but it is too liquid or a little foamy, and has a strong sour-milk smell, requires increased attention from parents, especially when breastfeeding. If the presence of irritation in the anal area is added to the listed signs, and the baby himself begins to behave very restlessly, is capricious during and after meals, and is underweight, then this indicates a lack of hind milk in the diet. It is higher in calories, not as sweet and contains the enzymes necessary to break down milk sugars. All this is not present in foremilk, so you just need to change breasts less often.

If there is a large amount of mucus in the stool, and the stool is green, yellow or brown, then you need to focus on the baby’s behavior and well-being. If this fact does not bother him, then medical help is hardly necessary. Most likely this is a consequence of a recent cold or a harbinger of teething. Medical advice should be sought if such symptoms persist for several days in a row.

Soft and very thick brown stool can be either normal or pathological. If your child has recently taken iron supplements, there is no need to worry. You should consult a doctor if you have not taken additional iron. Then an examination is necessary to rule out internal bleeding.

Urgent medical attention is needed if the stool is excessively watery and has an unpleasant odor, and the child is not gaining weight well or even loses it. The reason may lie in allergies, poisoning or an infectious disease. Hard feces that come out in small parts with constant strong tension in the abdomen, accompanied by screaming and crying of the baby, indicate constipation. The reason may be in complementary feeding if it contains an ingredient that is not suitable for the baby, or in the mother’s incorrect diet.

Foamed green stool, which appears along with a specific “pop” and has a sharp sour odor, indicates pathology. If, in addition to everything else, irritation and redness appear around the anus, then you should immediately consult a doctor. Usually, with such symptoms, children stop gaining weight and are constantly capricious and behave extremely restlessly. The reason is lactose deficiency, both primary and secondary.

The appearance of blood in the stool, both liquid scarlet color and black blood lumps, should entail an urgent visit to the hospital. Most often, this is triggered by an allergic reaction to the protein contained in cow's milk; it can also be one of the symptoms of the development of bacterial infections. Based on the results of the examination, hemorrhoids or intestinal bleeding may be diagnosed. Both problems require immediate treatment. The case of digested blood lumps may indicate that the mother’s nipples are damaged, and the baby with milk swallows the blood oozing from cracks in the chest. For a newborn, this option is safe, although it is better to avoid such a scenario.

If intestinal problems are detected, you should seek medical help. This will help to diagnose pathological changes in the child’s body in a timely manner, accelerate the subsequent normalization of stool and restore the rate of weight gain. Doctors' basic recommendations often boil down to changing breastfeeding techniques.

Among them:

• feeding should occur in a position that is comfortable for the mother and newborn;
• It is important that the baby grasps the breast correctly and does not suck only the nipple;
• in some cases, it is necessary to increase milk production by applying the baby to the breast more frequently and pumping after each feeding;
• special attention should be paid to ensuring that the baby receives enough hind milk;
• the duration of feeding sessions should not be artificially limited;
• In the first months of life, you should not try to feed the baby according to a schedule; it is much better to do it on demand.

Always carefully examine the contents of your baby’s diaper - this will make it possible to promptly respond to any pathological change. But you shouldn’t panic at the slightest discrepancy with the norm.

Useful video

Waste from the human body comes out in the form of feces with the remains of undigested food, enzymes, bile pigments, and bacteria. Normally, stool has a neutral, non-irritating odor. The stench of feces appears in the event of problems of a different nature: dietary habits or pathological processes. The smell of stool can be adjusted by changing your diet. But if the problem remains, this is a reason to consult a doctor.

Reasons for odor changes

The foul odor of feces appears in an adult most often due to rotting processes inherent in certain foods, such as onions and garlic. These are natural phytoncides, antibiotics that destroy pathogenic microflora in the intestines. Therefore, their use in food leads to intestinal sanitization and the appearance of a putrid odor. In addition, legumes, cabbage, fatty foods and chemical additives (stabilizers, flavor enhancers, preservatives) provide a specific pungent aroma. However, with proper nutrition, the putrid odor of feces indicates serious disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system, including:

What changes in the body does the smell of stool indicate?

Quite often, by the smell of stool, doctors can suspect a particular disease that is latent and does not produce other symptoms. For example, stench is observed when the pancreas is not functioning properly due to blocking the access of bile to the digestive system. This is accompanied by bitterness in the mouth. The smell of rot indicates a pathology of the stomach, which is not able to digest proteins. A sour aroma indicates the predominance of fermentation processes in the intestines. A faint smell of stool indicates the development of constipation. There are also specific signs of diseases that are determined by the appearance of feces and their aroma:

• The putrid aroma of oily feces may indicate the decomposition of undigested fats.
• Feces that smell of sulfur (the smell of a rotten egg) signal poisoning with sulfur-containing compounds or increased putrefactive processes in the intestines associated with the abundant proliferation of bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide.
• The smell of vinegar, ammonia, ammonia, rubber is also a sign of an increase in the number of pathogenic flora in the intestines.
• A pungent ammonia aroma indicates a disorder in purine metabolism, kidney pathology, and lack of nitrogen absorption.
• The sweetish aroma of stool is one of the signs of cholera.
• If the stool smells like acetone, this indicates problems with the pancreas and the development of diabetes. But at the same time, the smell of acetone occurs with excessive physical exertion, binge drinking, fasting, or lack of carbohydrates in the diet.
• Stool with a pungent aroma of rotten fish indicates the possibility of infection with worms or a urogenital infection caused by gardnerella.
• Stool that smells like glue indicates dysentery.

It should be noted that all these signs are not a sufficient reason for diagnosis, but only allow one to suspect certain problems. That is why, if a strong odor appears during bowel movements, it is better to consult a doctor and undergo a full examination.

Sour stool in children

Normally, a child under one year of age has virtually odorless feces. The sour aroma of stool indicates pathology of the digestive system, dysbacteriosis, and fermentative diarrhea. The sour smell of feces in a baby does not always indicate a disease. It can be triggered by physiological diarrhea during breastfeeding (breastfeeding), feeding with inappropriate formulas during artificial or mixed feeding, or the introduction of complementary foods.

The specific sour aroma of a newborn’s stool may indicate a food allergy; in a child under 2 years of age, it may indicate a rotavirus infection, but this is accompanied by fever and vomiting. In the first days of life, the baby's feces do not smell at all. This is tar-colored original meconium, for which the absence of odor is the norm. The feces of a one-year-old baby are odorless even after antibiotic therapy - this is a child’s physiological feature.

Stool odor in adults

Bad stool aroma: bitter, metallic, sweet indicates a possible pathology of the digestive tract. Changes in the balance of intestinal microflora lead to a strange and very strong odor. The stool may even smell like bleach, glue, acid, or rot. Infectious lesions of the gastrointestinal tract also change the aroma of stool. In this case, the terrible smell of feces is combined with symptoms of general intoxication, bloating, flatulence, dyspepsia, and pain. Impurities may appear in the stool: pus, blood, inclusions of undigested food, muscle fibers. Here we can talk about the appearance of iodophilic microflora: staphylococci, enterococci, E. coli, yeast fungi. They change the color of stool when interacting with products containing iodine. In endemic regions, iodization is mandatory. In any case, consultation with a specialist is necessary to clarify the cause. The smell, consistency and color of stool also change after taking certain medications, for example, after drinking smecta, sharp-smelling feces that resemble plasticine are released.

Diagnostics

There is a special algorithm for examining patients with unpleasant stool odor. To make a correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment, first of all, a chemical analysis of stool is necessary. An important diagnostic test is a coprogram, a microscopic examination of excrement for the content of muscle fibers and other remains of undigested food.
In addition, the enzymatic function of the stomach is examined and lactase deficiency is excluded. Check the condition of the gallbladder and pancreas. Sometimes a blood test is required, both general and biochemical, and serological. In accordance with the symptoms, FGDS, MSCT of the abdominal organs, and biopsy may be prescribed. Treatment at home without an accurate diagnosis and consultation with a professional can lead to undesirable consequences and dangerous complications.

Prevention of digestive disorders

Most often, poor digestion requires an individual diet with limited smoked, salty, and spicy foods. It is recommended to remove seasonings and sauces, fatty meats and alcohol from the diet. Drinking regime is of great importance: at least 1.5 liters of clean water per day. For preventive purposes, foci of chronic infection are rehabilitated using antibiotics, sulfonamides, and their combinations. Medicines that relieve symptoms of intoxication and vitamin therapy are prescribed. The functioning of the digestive system is brought into proper condition by physical education, sports, and an active lifestyle. Giving up bad habits in combination with these simple rules allows a person to restore health and not have digestive problems in the future.

Even in the maternity hospital, nurses and pediatricians ask mothers during their rounds how the process of bowel movement occurs in a newborn. The fact is that a baby’s stool is one of the most important indicators of a child’s health – both for those who are breastfed and for those who are bottle-fed.

Why is it important to control stool in infants?

Why is it so important to control your baby's stool:

• it will indicate problems in the gastrointestinal tract;
• you can assess the level of nutritional adequacy of the child;
• Some changes in stool can determine the development of pathologies of organs and systems not related to the digestive tract.

A child in infancy poops every day, and even several times a day - this allows even parents without medical education to quickly respond to changes in stool and draw the attention of a pediatrician or visiting nurse to this point. Of course, for this you will need to acquire at least minimal knowledge about what a baby’s stool should normally be like, what can be considered deviations from the norm, and in what cases it is worth calling a doctor. All this information is laid out in the presented material.

Remember right away - the norm for stool in infants is a relative concept. Some children poop 3-4 times a day, and the stool is a yellowish mush, while some children defecate once every 1-2 days and this is the norm for them. How to determine how much a baby's stool fits into normal parameters?

Frequency of bowel movements

On the 2-3rd day of life, the newborn begins to pass transitional feces - it has a yellow-green color, maybe dark green, with a semi-liquid consistency, which is absolutely normal.

On the 4-5th day of a child’s life, a bowel movement schedule is already established, and the frequency of stool in children fluctuates in a fairly large amplitude - from 10-12 times a day to 1 time in 2 days. It has been noted that most newborns poop either during feeding or after eating.

Note:If a child poops once every 2 days, but at the same time behaves calmly, the act of defecation takes place without screaming and strong straining, then this rhythm of bowel movements can be considered the absolute norm.

As the child grows, the number of bowel movements also changes - for example, if in the first 1-2 months of life the baby pooped 8-10 times a day, then by 4-5 months the number of bowel movements decreases to 5-6 times a day, and by 12 months - 1-2 times a day. It is noteworthy that if a child pooped once every 2 days while still an infant, then this frequency of stool remains the same in the future.

Amount of feces during bowel movements

This indicator depends only on the child’s diet. For example, in the first 2-3 months of a baby, very little feces will be released - no more than 5 grams per bowel movement, but by 12 months this amount will be increased to 100-200 grams per day (about 60 grams per bowel movement) .

In general, it is considered normal for a baby to have stool when it is a mass of soft, mushy consistency. But even this indicator can be variable - for example, feces in the form of a gruel with a small number of lumps will be considered normal.

As the child grows older, the consistency of stool will definitely change - it will become more and more dense. But keep in mind that by 6 months of a child’s life, the feces will already be fully formed, but will still remain soft.

Yellow with white lumps, dark yellow, yellow-brown, golden yellow and in general all variations of yellow color for baby feces will be the norm. But just keep in mind that as soon as the child is switched to artificial nutrition or vegetable/fruit purees begin to be present in the diet, the color of the stool becomes darker, and by 12 months of the baby’s life it becomes dark brown.

There is no need to worry if the baby's stool is green - this is also the norm, and the stool turns green due to the presence of biliverdin in it. You need to know that bilirubin can be excreted in the feces of an infant until 6-9 months of age, so a green tint to the stool during this age period can be considered the absolute norm. There is no reason to worry if yellow stool is excreted, which then turns green, this means that bilirubin is excreted in minimal quantities in the stool; in the air it simply acquires a characteristic shade.

If the baby is on artificial or mixed feeding, then his stool will have a dark yellow or brown tint, the frequency of bowel movements will become less than during breastfeeding, constipation or diarrhea, flatulence with difficulty passing gases may periodically occur.

Note:if the baby is fed formulas containing iron (this is usually practiced for neonatal anemia), the color of the stool will be distinctly green. And if the child is fed not with special formulas, but with cow's milk, then the feces will have a greasy sheen, a bright yellow color and a “cheesy” smell.

Complementary feeding is considered a new type of food for infants; the digestive system will begin to adapt to it and produce specific enzymes for digestion. In the first days of complementary feeding, the mother may notice that undigested pieces of food and an increased amount of mucus have appeared in the baby’s stool. If such a change in stool does not lead to a change in the baby’s well-being (the baby does not cry, feces pass freely), then you need to continue to give him complementary foods, carefully monitoring the amount of feces excreted, the frequency of bowel movements and the nature of the stool.

There are some dishes that can cause a laxative effect - for example, boiled carrots. Moreover, it is not even digested, but comes out unchanged along with liquid feces. If the parents were not faced with the task of correcting stools and getting rid of constipation in the baby, then with this “complementary feeding” they need to stop introducing carrots into the child’s diet and switch to more gentle vegetables - for example, potatoes, zucchini. And if you introduce rice porridge into your baby’s diet, the stool will probably stick. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the influence of various products on the functioning of the digestive system, so as not to worry and not take any drastic measures at the slightest changes in stool.

In general, the following changes in stool when introducing complementary foods are considered normal:

• feces become denser;
• the color of stool changes from yellow to brown;
• feces become heterogeneous;
• Diarrhea or constipation may occur.

Knowing what kind of baby stool can be considered normal, it will be easy for parents to find out how healthy the baby is. If changes are detected that can hardly be called physiological, it is necessary to call a doctor at home and describe to him the full clinical picture - this will guarantee timely detection of the pathology and the prescription of effective treatment if necessary.

Tsygankova Yana Aleksandrovna, medical observer, therapist of the highest qualification category

Normal stool in a newborn - what is it like?

The first thing new mothers and fathers need to know and remember: a baby’s stool depends on his (and therefore his mother’s) nutrition and age, and can also be completely different for different children. This means that it is incorrect to compare the feces of older children and infants, your own and other people’s children. In addition, children who are breastfed have different stools than those who eat formula.

Do not be alarmed if in the maternity hospital, in the first days of life, the child has frequent yellow-green watery stools. It is completely normal to have watery stools. This substance is meconium (original feces), which is replaced by gray-green feces after 2-3 days. Meconium, which has a watery consistency, looks like tar or machine oil and has no odor.

So what is a good normal stool for a baby? The norm for a baby who is breastfed is:

• mushy consistency;
• yellowish-golden;
• the smell is sweetish, reminiscent of milk, or sour, like cottage cheese or yogurt;
• The norm is when the frequency of bowel movements is approximately equal to the number of feedings (more than 5 times per day), for children older than 3-4 months - 1-2 times a day, usually in the morning.

If the baby does not poop for a long time, there is no stool, or the frequency of bowel movements is low, this may indicate insufficient calorie intake. And if you have foamy stools with a pungent odor and the frequency is several times a day, it’s time to see a doctor!

Over time, feces with a watery consistency in infants become thicker and more homogeneous as the digestive system matures. In very young children, 1-2 months old, the stool is frequent, watery, usually with white spots, but not rare. This behavior of the gastrointestinal tract in infants is considered normal.

Some breastfed babies have greenish stool with a watery consistency. As a rule, this indicates an immature digestive system and an underdeveloped liver. If such a phenomenon does not become permanent, then treatment is not required - this is the case when the infant outgrows the problem.

Liquid or so-called “sour” feces with a watery consistency sometimes appear in infants on the days when teeth are being cut. This is also a normal phenomenon and does not require medical intervention.

Baby's stool after complementary foods are added to the diet

At 6-10 months, the baby’s diet, in addition to mother’s milk, also includes other food - the so-called complementary foods. During this period, the baby's already loose stool can change dramatically - many develop yellow diarrhea or constipation, and the color and smell of poop changes. What should mom do in this case: don’t worry and monitor bowel movements (remove new foods if they cause serious bowel problems). It is better to start complementary feeding with cereals, since the child’s body usually reacts to vegetables with diarrhea. It’s also better to hold off on fruits.

After the baby's stomach gets used to complementary foods, the stool acquires a thicker consistency and a brown tint.

Breastfeeding: stool abnormalities

It is important for parents to remember that the first signal that something is abnormal with the baby’s digestion is his behavior, not his feces. If the baby is cheerful, cheerful and does not have a tummy ache, there is no point in worrying. What to do otherwise?

Dark frequent stools

Dark feces usually appear in infants when a lot of foods containing iron appear in the diet. This situation does not require correction. If there were no such supplements, and the stools are dark, you should see a doctor to rule out cases of intestinal bleeding.

Mucus in stool

A mucous consistency with shiny streaks appears in infant stool due to:

• allergies;
• infections;
• lack of enzymes in the body;
• improper nutrition (if she eats only foremilk, which is thinner and less nutritious).

IMPORTANT! If foamy or watery frequent stools with mucus persist for more than 2 days or other symptoms such as fever appear, you should consult a doctor.

Pieces of food in baby's stool and change in stool color

You may notice brown strings of banana or blueberry skins in baby poop. Sometimes the stool changes color. For example, orange appears if an infant has eaten carrots, red - beets or tomatoes. Orange feces are a common occurrence. If the situation is permanent, it means that the child’s gastrointestinal tract cannot cope with the load and a pediatrician’s consultation is needed. The orange color in stool is influenced by the work of bile. The alarm should be from colorless stool, and not from an orange tint.

White or green stool

Poop is considered white if baby poop is chalky or light gray in color. This is a serious signal indicating that the infant cannot digest food. The reason may be improper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract or insufficient amount of bile in the liver.

Green feces, on the contrary, are considered a variation of the norm. It usually appears after the introduction of vegetable complementary foods (potty or broccoli), as well as if the baby is additionally given iron supplements.

Foamy stool

An infant has foamy stool for three reasons:

• the stomach does not digest some food. Complementary foods that cause foamy stool should be removed from the diet for a while;
• intestinal infection. In this case, additional symptoms appear - fever, foamy green diarrhea, vomiting, bloody feces;
• imbalance of foremilk and hindmilk. In this case, the infant feels well, gains weight, but the stool has a liquid, foamy consistency, and also suffers from colic and gas. Foremilk is thinner and also contains a lot of lactose. The pancreas is not able to completely digest this enzyme, causing dysbiosis and other problems. To remove foamy feces, the mother must either give the baby the breast until it is completely emptied, or express some of the milk and feed the back.

It is worth noting here that sometimes breastfed children suffer from so-called lactose intolerance, when the body does not digest lactose well, resulting in foamy stools. It can be hereditary or acquired due to poor nutrition. In both cases, the main sign is the presence of more than 1% carbohydrates in the stool. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the baby should be given a lactose-free formula.

Diarrhea in a baby

Diarrhea in breastfed children is even more dangerous than in adults. It not only greatly irritates the fragile gastrointestinal tract of infants, but also quickly dehydrates the body.

In infants, diarrhea is watery, just like water, sometimes foamy, and may even leak out of the diaper. Shade - yellow, brown. The frequency of foamy bowel movements increases.

The reasons for the occurrence of foamy yellow diarrhea with a frequency of a couple of times a day, if breastfeeding, are very different - from a banal infection to allergies or other serious diseases. In any case, if it is observed for the second or third time, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Constipation

Hard stool is a rarer problem when feeding with mother's milk than diarrhea. Constipation that requires pediatric intervention looks like this:

• appears systematically, several rare bowel movements in a row;
• When the baby poops, he strains and cries;
• poop looks like hard pellets;
• Blood is visible in the stool due to damage to the anus.

The doctor, after examination and tests, usually adjusts the diet and may also prescribe special medications to normalize the infant’s rare bowel movements. If you are breastfeeding and constipation appears after the introduction of complementary foods, it may indicate an intolerance to some product by the infant. In this case, you need to remove “new items” from the menu.

Baby's stool by month of life

Young mothers and fathers will find this small baby poop calendar handy:

• Infant in the first 2-3 days of life. Meconium is NORMAL. If it does not appear, you should supplement the newborn with colostrum from a pipette, otherwise infantile jaundice may appear or the baby will begin to lose weight. Dark bowel movements occur up to several times during the night;
• Infant up to 1-1.5 months. If breastfeeding - yellow feces, frequency - more than 4 times a day, the volume each time is a little more than a teaspoon, the consistency of liquid cottage cheese or sour cream. An infant's stool is liquid, soft, yellow or mustard in color, sometimes with red streaks, the smell is sweetish or, conversely, reminiscent of sour milk;
• Breastfed baby from 1-1.5 months to the first complementary feeding (usually at 6 months). The frequency of baby “pooping” varies, but in any case the intensity becomes less. The shade and consistency can also be anything: as long as it doesn’t bother the baby, there is no problem;
• after the introduction of complementary foods. An infant has feces similar to an adult, the frequency is 1-2 times every few days. The norm is everything except diarrhea, constipation, as well as uncharacteristic frequent stools with an unnatural odor (frequent foamy, with mucus, a different color), which continues for a long time, especially in combination with elevated temperature or pain.