Baby Poop - When to Worry?

Introduction:

Poop is not just a foul-smelling waste product leaving the body; there is more to it. Though not many accept it, most people examine their poop soon after defecation by staring at the toilet bowls, taking a deep breath to know whether it smells as usual, and so on. When this bothers adults so much, in the case of infants it can be a more serious concern as a parent. A baby's eating, sleeping, and excretory habits are of high importance as they determine the baby's overall health.

What Is the Significance of Baby Poop?

Poop, especially babies, is a vital at-home health assessment tool for the concerned parents. Yes, factors attached to poop such as poop color, consistency, frequency, and smell reflect the baby’s well-being. Hence, each time one changes the baby’s diaper, attention to detail is essential. Equal importance should be given to both the baby’s food intake and defecating habits. Though initially unpleasant to assess, it eventually becomes an undeniable part and parcel of one’s parental care duties for the sake of their child’s health.

How Should a Healthy Baby’s Poop Look Like?

Babies grow and develop very quickly. Similarly, how one’s baby’s stool looks also changes and is normal. Based on what one feeds the baby, the consistency of stool also varies.

• Meconium or Normal Newborn Poop - The first stool or normal newborn poop that the baby excretes within 24 hours of birth is called meconium. This meconium is made of amniotic fluid swallowed while within the womb, skin cells, mucus, hair, and other swallowed particles. It takes a few days for the baby to eliminate all the meconium. Until then, the baby’s excretory matter will be gooey, tar-like, and dark green, lacking any smell. Once the whole meconium is eliminated from the body, regular poop will be produced and excreted.

• Stools After Meconium - Babies start to excrete regular stools that look different from meconium. This regular stool keeps changing depending on what one feeds their child.

• Breast Milk - Newborns are breastfed, resulting in a runny consistency poop with whitish fat particles. Mucus will be present, but not as much as it would be in meconium. Stay informed; the baby’s stool color also changes based on what one (the baby’s mother) eats. For example, if a mother eats spinach, her baby’s poop will be green.

• Formula Milk - If the baby is formula-fed, the stool consistency should be a little paste-like and not as runny as a breastfed child’s stool. The color is usually tan or dark yellow.

• Stools During Weaning - As one begins to introduce solid foods to the baby (at six months of age), the stool will smell strong, with pieces of undigested foods in it. The consistency also becomes firmer.

• Partially Digested Food - As the digestive system is immature there is a chance that undigested food can appear in the baby’s stool.

What Is the Significance of a Baby's Poop Color?

1. Black:

The first poop of a baby is ‘meconium,’ which is black and tar-like. It is normal to have black stools for the first few days of life. However, if it extends beyond, it necessitates one to take the child to the pediatrician.

2. Mustard-Yellow:

Breastfed babies pass mustard-yellow stools once their meconium is completely eliminated.

3. Yellow:

Breastfed and formula-fed babies usually pass bright yellow stools. But breastfed babies pass runny consistency stools, and formula-fed babies pass stools of peanut butter consistency.

4. Orange:

When unaccompanied by any symptoms, orange poop is normal. Once babies start eating solid foods during weaning, orange stools can appear due to the orange foods they consume, such as carrots, apricots, etc. Even if the breastfeeding mother consumes orange foods and supplements, the baby can pass orange poop. But if any other symptoms persist, consult a pediatrician.

5. Red:

If the child has not consumed any red foods like beetroots or tomatoes and still is passing red stools, the condition is serious, and medical care must be sought. Apart from red foods, if the baby's poop is red, there is blood in the poop, or there is bleeding while defecating, it indicates an underlying medical condition. Common conditions causing red poop and necessitating medical care include intestinal infection, anal fissure, and milk allergy.

6. Greenish:

Firm and greenish stools with a slight tan are a normal stool color in bottle-fed babies.

7. Dark Green:

If the breastfeeding mother consumes greenish foods such as spinach, peas, etc., or if the baby consumes such green foods, the poop color becomes green. Once the food gets digested and leaves the body completely, the stool color will revert to normal.

8. White:

If the baby is pooping white; it is a serious condition requiring the pediatrician’s attention. Any problem with the liver affects bile production, which results in white poop. Bile is a pigment produced in the liver that gives the poop its color.

9. Gray:

Gray and chalky white poops are unusually indicative of some digestive disorders in the child. Seek medical help in such cases.

How Often Should a Newborn Poop?

Stool frequency in babies differs. Babies have daily bowel movements, especially breastfed ones. Breastfed ones tend to poop more frequently than formula-fed ones. Until six weeks of age, breastfed babies poop several times a day, ranging from two to five times. After six weeks, when their digestive system can digest the breast milk more efficiently, it is normal to poop only once a week.

If one is bottle-feeding their baby, then a once-a-day bowel movement or going a day or two without a bowel movement is normal. Once the child shifts to solid foods, their bowel movements become regular as adults.

• Constipation - If the baby’s poop is brownish, pebble-like, and firm, with the presence or absence of blood, it indicates constipation. Do not try any home remedies, instead, reach out to a pediatrician.

• Diarrhea - If the baby is passing stools of watery consistency (looser than usual) after every feeding session, he or she is suffering from diarrhea. It can lead to dehydration. Seek medical help in such cases.

Conclusion:

Changes in the little one’s poop should be tensing for the new parents out there. Even a minute change in color or consistency should cause concern for the child. Based on the information above, one can assess their child’s poop and health and contact a pediatrician if necessary. Medical attention is required in cases in which the baby's poop is still black for days after birth, white stools, bloody stool, frequent watery stools, or if the baby finds it painful and difficult to pass stools.