Feces of a 2 month old baby. The norm of stool in a newborn on artificial feeding

The birth of a child is a great happiness for parents and at the same time, anxiety. The responsibility for the baby is so great that a new exciting topic for conversation appears between the parents - the color of the chair. Indeed, the content of the diaper is important information, which tells about the state of health.

What does normal baby stool look like?

The change in the color of baby feces and its consistency depends on the age of the child and, above all, nutrition. The first stool of a newborn (meconium) consists of processed amniotic fluid, skin cells and bilirubin, its color is dark green, and the consistency is thick.

The first days the shade is affected by physiological jaundice - the stool will be greenish in color, as a rule, it disappears during the first seven days of life.

A week later, the color of the stool of the newborn changes due to the main food - breast milk or artificial mixture. When switching to an artificial mixture, the stool becomes thicker, which also happens with the introduction of complementary foods. If the child eats broccoli, the stool becomes green, and after the carrot - yellow.

Acceptable rate is green, black, brown or mustard. Only red, indicating blood, causes concern, however, red color is possible after consumption of beets by a nursing mother or child.

An alarming sign is a green stool with an unpleasant and pungent odor, which is accompanied by pain in the abdomen. Frequent bowel movements with loose stools with an increase in body temperature may indicate a rotavirus infection.

Type of stool during breastfeeding and artificial feeding

Child's chair breastfeeding has a liquid or pasty consistency, the color is yellow, mustard or green. The presence of white lumps is a variant of the norm.

The stool of a formula-fed baby may be yellowish-brown, light yellow, or brownish-green, with a pasty consistency.

green stool color

Green does not indicate a problem unless there are signs such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and a rash. A slightly greenish discoloration can occur when exposed to air as the surface of the stool oxidizes. Also, pay attention to your diet if you are breastfeeding.

Almost black or dark green

It is formed under the influence of certain foods (for example, berries) and iron-containing drugs in case of anemia. Another reason for darkening is blood. Blood in a child's stool is always an alarm signal indicating a food allergy, intestinal inflammation, or anomalies in its structure.

Blood in a child's stool looks like dark dots and threads, most often this is associated with anal fissures with constipation. The problem is more serious with dark stools. When the cause of such a color is not clarified on its own, the help of a specialist is required.

Mucus in baby's stool

Mucus in moderation is considered normal when a child first tries new foods. If mucus is observed for a long time, this indicates a food allergy.

White or almost white stools may indicate problems with the liver or pancreas. Be sure to visit a doctor.

Unfortunately, not every baby can be breastfed. In such situations, the child has to be fed with artificial nutrition. Today there is a very large selection of quality mixtures for children of any age. But the intestinal microflora is highly dependent on what kind of milk the baby receives - mother's or its substitute. You can control the state of the baby's intestines by the state of the stool. What should be the chair of a newborn receiving artificial feeding? This is the question that many mothers ask when they first encounter this type of nutrition. It is necessary to approach the health of the child responsibly, so every parent should be able to distinguish between normal and pathological stools.

Features of artificial feeding

Breast milk contains everything necessary for the successful growth and development of the little man. For the baby, mother's milk is not alien. Therefore, children who receive natural nutrition from the first days of life are much less likely to suffer from allergies and intestinal diseases. Their immunity is formed faster and becomes stronger.

But modern baby formulas are also of high quality and contain the whole complex of vitamins and minerals that a child needs at a certain period of life. Almost all of them are made on the basis of cow's milk. In addition, they are more satisfying than breast milk, and the little one has to be fed less often.

The downside of artificial mixtures is that cow's milk protein is alien to a sensitive infant organism. A still very weak immune system can begin to reject it. The intestines of some children do not absorb artificial nutrition very well. Not all children from the first days accept alternative nutrition well. Some take days or even weeks to adjust. During this time, the child may suffer from diarrhea, constipation, poor appetite, and even vomiting.

No matter how good and expensive the mixture is, a newborn with artificial feeding has a different stool than a baby who receives mother's milk. The characteristics of bowel movements depend on formula, age, complementary foods, and some other factors.

While the baby is very tiny, he cannot tell his parents about discomfort, pain in the intestines, and other unpleasant sensations that may bother him. A caring mother must learn to determine the condition of her child by the characteristics of the stool.

Features of the artificial baby chair

The contents of the intestines of a one-month-old baby can be very different from what happens in the digestive tract of a baby of 7-8 months. A new mother should not immediately throw away a dirty diaper. Its contents must be constantly monitored.

The stool of a bottle-fed baby should have a certain color, smell, and texture. Some deviations from the norm do not always indicate serious problems. But there are times when changes are a signal of a disease.

Consider what should be a normal stool in children receiving artificial nutrition.

A child's chair can tell a lot about how he/she is feeling.

Frequency

The first thing parents should know is how many times a day a newborn's stool occurs with artificial feeding. The number of bowel movements depends on the individual characteristics of the child. On average, babies poop 1 to 5-6 times a day. Most babies defecate 1-3 times a day. The same amount is considered the norm for children who eat breast milk. The peanut can empty its intestines literally after each feeding. natural nutrition digested faster, so do not be surprised to have a full diaper in 20-30 minutes after eating. It takes longer to digest the mixture and the baby is emptied after an hour and a half.

If the baby poops more often 6-7 times a day, this is a clear sign of a problem. The child should be seen by a doctor as soon as possible.

As complementary foods are introduced, stool frequency decreases. Failure to have a bowel movement within 48 hours is considered constipation.

Quantity

Fecal mass also depends on the individual characteristics of the infant: height, weight, age, appetite, metabolic rate.

For the first 2-3 months of life, the child excretes approximately 5-8 g of feces at a time. The total mass of stool in a newborn usually does not exceed 20-25 g per day.

By the age of six months, the frequency of bowel movements is reduced, and the mass of feces increases to 30-50 g at a time. In a year, the baby goes to the toilet already on average 1 time per day, and the mass of his bowel movements is from 100 to 200 g.

Consistency

On artificial feeding, the stool in a child is denser than in children who are given breast milk. But fully formed feces in children occur only after 1 year old.

Normal feces have a mushy, homogeneous consistency. Fluctuations from a liquid slurry to a thicker one are quite acceptable. Sometimes the stool can be liquid with soft small lumps. Usually the liquid is absorbed into the diaper, leaving traces, and lumps remain on the surface. This consistency also refers to normal, especially if it happens not constantly.

Very liquid bowel movements of the baby are no longer healthy and may indicate an intestinal disorder. Too dense feces indicates a lack of fluid in the child's body.

Color

A lot about the health of the baby can be determined by the color of the feces. It is worth considering that it differs from the color of the feces of a child who is breastfeeding.

The shade of stool depends on the type of mixture and may vary. Normally, the baby's stool is golden yellow to light brown in color.

It is also considered normal if a child's feces:

Yellow or straw with white inclusions;
Yellow with a greenish tint;
Dark yellow, almost orange;
Brown yellow.

What color the stool will be in a baby who has begun to introduce complementary foods also depends on the products, but usually it turns brown.

Smell

The smell of feces in children on breast and artificial nutrition also differs. The mixture gives the stool a more pronounced "flavor". The feces of breastfed babies are practically odorless.

So, what should be the stool of a child receiving formula? The artificer's feces don't have much nice smell, but still with a predominance of milky notes. Usually only children's feces smell like this, and it is difficult to confuse them with others, especially for an experienced mother. If the stool smells sour or putrid, this is not the norm.

impurities

Children's stool, which has impurities on artificial feeding, is no exception. Mixtures consist of different complexes of vitamins, minerals and other substances, so each of them can give its own shades and inclusions in the baby's feces. But not all stool changes are safe.

A signal of disorders and diseases is feces:

Pronounced green color, especially with impurities of mucus. The symptom may indicate lactase deficiency.
With an admixture of very dark, almost black inclusions. This is a sign of clotted blood from the intestines.
With an admixture of scarlet blood - most likely, the child has cracks in the rectum.
Almost white with some liquid in it - may be a sign of liver problems.
With foam - a symptom of dysbacteriosis.

Foam and mucus in small amounts should not cause alarm. This happens from colic, gas, not very good digestion of food. If foam and mucus are constantly present in the stool, then you should contact your pediatrician.

What can be violations of the stool in a child on IV and the reasons?

Until the baby's immune system is formed, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and the body as a whole, he may experience stool disorders. They depend not only on nutrition, but also on external factors. Even very young children always react to the mood of their parents, temperature environment, air, environment. The nervous system and stomach are closely related. Sometimes, a child can crap one's pants even from fright or strong excitement. Changes in the stool are also from physiological disorders, diseases.

The most common problem faced by parents of IV infants is lactase deficiency. The enzyme lactase is produced by the pancreas. It is he who helps to digest milk sugar - lactose.

Due to the enzymatic composition of the intestines that has not yet been formed, a mixture made with cow's milk may simply not be absorbed in a child.

Symptoms of lactase deficiency in formula-fed infants:

diarrhea through a short time after feeding;
Stool with a greenish tinge and a sour smell;
There is foam and mucus in the stool;
Admixture of bloody veins in the stool.

Usually, a lack of lactase is accompanied by bloating, cramps, so the baby cries, is naughty, and is lethargic.

Special lactose-free mixtures help to solve problems. In most children with age, the pathology goes away on its own.

Diarrhea and loose stools

Diarrhea is considered too frequent bowel movements. The consistency of the stool is liquid, with a usual or unpleasant odor.

The cause of loose stools in artificial people are:

Incorrectly selected mixture;
Intolerance to certain components baby food;
infections;
Dysbacteriosis;
Taking certain medications (especially antibiotics);
Inflammatory processes;
External factors (fear, irritability, new environment).

Infection in newborns is accompanied by other symptoms - fever, sometimes a rash on the body, vomiting. Also liquid stool often causes colic, flatulence. In case of any violations, it is necessary to immediately call a doctor. Only a specialist can determine the exact cause of diarrhea.

The wrong mixture can cause problems with the stool in the baby

Constipation or lack of stool

Dry infant formula is diluted with water. Sometimes parents do not keep the proportions and make the mixture too rich, which may well cause constipation. From the first month, babies on IV need to be given clean water little by little. Lack of fluid also causes constipation.

The absence of stool in infants is due to a sharp change in the mixture, the introduction of additional complementary foods.

Psychological factors cannot be ruled out. Pain, fear, sudden separation from the mother for an unusually long period, unfamiliar surroundings, new people - all this is reflected in the baby's digestive system.

Lack of bowel movements or very hard stools are due to certain diseases such as rickets, congenital diabetes, myasthenia gravis, hypothyroidism.

Green chair

As already mentioned, a greenish tint in the feces does not always indicate any disorders and diseases.

The following symptoms should be cause for concern:

Green stool with mucus, foam.
The baby empties the intestines more than 6 times a day.
There is a sour and fetid smell.
The kid is naughty, crying, he is clearly in pain.
The child is lethargic and does not eat well.
There is an increase in temperature.
There is weight loss or no gain for a long time.
The green color of the stool is permanent.
On the body there are redness, rash.

Having noticed at least one symptom, it is necessary to urgently contact the observing pediatrician.

If the green stool is accompanied by capriciousness, then this is a reason to seek the advice of a doctor.

Irregular chair at the artificial

There is nothing terrible and dangerous in the fact that the baby has an irregular bowel movement. It is often observed in children on GV. The body of the newborn has not yet adapted to the conditions, not all functions have formed. You should not sound the alarm if the artificial person eats well, he has a healthy sleep, the baby is not so often naughty and cries.

When the baby bursts into tears, he has a swollen and hard tummy, while the stool is either frequent or rare - these are obvious violations of the digestive system.

Other violations

Unfortunately, there are a lot of causes and diseases that affect the functioning of the intestines. Of the more rare disorders that cause deviations in the stool, the following can be noted:

celiac disease Chronic pathology characterized by intolerance to gluten contained in cereals.
Intestinal obstruction.
Hirschsprung disease. Caused by spasmodic areas of the intestine that do not work.
Dolichosigma. An increase in the length of the sigmoid colon, causing dysmotility and problems with emptying.
Lack of digestive enzymes. Appears in feces a large number of mucus and lumps.

When to see a doctor and how to help a child?

To know how to help your child, and how to fix a chair, you need to accurately identify the cause of the violations. It is far from always obvious and easily defined.

The child's body is still weak, and health is very fragile. Therefore, it is better not to take risks by self-medicating, but to immediately consult a doctor. It is especially dangerous to self-administer medication to a child. Some drugs can cause not only allergies, but also serious health problems for the baby.

The best help to the child will be a timely examination and the appointment of therapy from a competent specialist. The primary diagnosis includes examination, the delivery of a general analysis of blood and feces. If necessary, other types of tests and additional examinations are prescribed.

With minor violations, it is enough to adjust the diet or change the mixture. Other cases may require serious treatment.

Prevention of normal stool in a baby

In order for the baby to have as few intestinal problems as possible, and to grow up strong and healthy even on artificial feeding, follow these helpful tips:

Choose mixtures as recommended by the supervising pediatrician.
If you decide to change baby food, do not do it abruptly. Start with one small serving a day and gradually increase it.
Dilute the mixture immediately before feeding.
Keep track of the freshness of the foods you give your baby.
Do not violate the proportions indicated in the instructions.
At 20-25 days of a child's life, you need to start drinking water. During the hot period, the amount of water is increased. Liquid helps food to be better absorbed.
Take care of the nervous system of the baby, protect him from negative situations.
When introducing complementary foods, strictly follow the recommendations of the doctor and in no case give the child foods that are prohibited at his age.
Try to resort to taking antibiotics only as a last resort, they greatly spoil the intestinal microflora.
Give your child a tummy massage from time to time. This is very helpful for digestion.

When is born little man, parents are full of desire to take care of him as best as possible in order to prevent the slightest discomfort, and even more so diseases. If the baby is bottle-fed, most modern parents they take the choice of mixtures very responsibly, because the nutrition of the baby in the first months of life is the basis of everything: up to a year, proper feeding lays the foundation for health for life. There are several criteria for how well a replacement for breast milk was chosen: how the baby gains weight and height, in what condition his delicate skin is, and of course, the stool of a newborn with artificial feeding.

What the baby’s diaper is filled with will tell an experienced pediatrician about his state of health no worse than tests, but it’s not always possible to show the baby’s stool to the attending physician. Therefore, this review will help you learn how to independently monitor the consistency, color, smell and regularity of stools in newborns in order to help the baby in time and correctly in case of problems. A bottle-fed newborn eats differently than a breastfed baby. This means that the stool of an artificial baby and the stool of a baby will be different, because the composition of human milk and formula, no matter how hard the baby food manufacturers try, is still not identical. Therefore, let's decide on the criteria by which we will determine whether everything is fine with the stool of a newborn: these are color, texture, smell and frequency.

Color.

Normally, the color of the feces of a bottle-fed newborn is naturally yellow or dark orange, and it depends on the mixture you choose.
If you observe white inclusions in the feces, this is not scary: the digestive system of the newborn matures and learns to cope with food, soon it will fully digest and assimilate the entire mixture.
However, if the matter is not physiological features children, but in the fact that you simply overfeed the baby (after all, he cannot tell you when he is already “enough”), in the feces you will observe curdled undigested lumps, and the consistency of the feces itself will become thinner: this means that you need to reconsider the portions after consulting with a pediatrician.
When the stool is bright yellow or orange color, this should be reported to the doctor: such a color indicates a malfunction in the functioning of the liver.
And green feces in babies older than a week can be a sign of unpleasant diseases like dysbacteriosis, staphylococcal enterocolitis, rotavirus infection, or a congenital inability to absorb lactose (newborn feces - meconium - greenish in nature, but this is normal only in the first days after birth).
A danger signal is too dark color feces, especially streaks or blotches of blood in it. Blood in the feces may appear due to the presence of microcracks in the anus (a common occurrence after constipation, when dry and dense feces scratch the rectum), but the reason may be different, so a visit to the doctor is also necessary.

Consistency. The stool of formula-fed babies is always denser than that of infants, so it is important for the mother to ensure that it is not too hard - the baby will be very uncomfortable, and in the long run it is fraught with constipation. The normal consistency of the stool of newborns is mushy, the feces become more formed only after the introduction of complementary foods. Liquid stools in artificial babies are also a sign of problems, usually, in addition to a sparse consistency, there are also changes in the frequency of defecation, color and smell - all these are signs of an intestinal infection, and a little later we will talk about this in more detail. In addition, this may be a sign of an individual negative reaction to the mixture. In this case, you will have to choose another, after consulting in detail with your doctor.

Smell. In a bottle-fed newborn, the odor of the stool is more pronounced than in a naturally fed baby, whose feces normally have a slight odor before the advent of complementary foods. A putrefactive odor in combination with a liquid consistency and the appearance of foam can serve as a danger signal - such a chair must be removed by a doctor, it can be a sign of a staphylococcal infection in the intestine.

Frequency. Formula-fed babies empty their tummy up to 6 times in the first days, but gradually the mode of functioning of their body becomes more orderly and predictable, and just a few weeks after the birth of the crumbs, they can already have a stool only once a day, while in breastfed babies, it can be several times a day (usually after each feeding). This is due to the fact that, unlike mother's milk, infant formula is absorbed longer and more difficult - the baby just needs more time for this. If there is no stool for more than a day, this can lead to compaction of feces in the intestines and to the occurrence of constipation, which is accompanied by unpleasant sensations and soreness. For formula-fed babies, constipation is the most typical problem (every third artificial newborn is familiar with it), while for babies, problems with loose stools are more common with mom's diet errors. Therefore, if a newborn who is bottle-fed, cries and worries all day, his tummy is hard, the process of pooping is painful, the baby pushes, blushes and screams, pulling his legs to his tummy, and the stool turns out to be hard and dense, in the form of sausages or dense "peas"- this is constipation.

If the frequency of bowel movements is less than once a day (but not more than 3), but the feces are soft and the child does not experience discomfort, this may simply be an individual feature of your baby.

What are the causes of constipation? There may be several.

First of all, you should consider the composition of the mixture for artificial feeding: even if it is good and suits many, it may not suit your baby specifically. This is verified empirically: if everything is getting better as soon as the mixture is changed, then this is the reason. Often, children prone to constipation are recommended a mixture with probiotics or fermented milk formula.
However, the mixture itself may be all right, but its expiration date may be coming to an end or even end. Be very careful when buying and be sure to pay attention to the information about the date by which the product should be used: if the expiration date expires, it is better not to take it.
Another one possible reason– the consistency of the mixture is too thick. It may even fully comply with the norm indicated on the jar - it will be too thick for your baby, in which case it is simply necessary to make the mixture more diluted, liquid.
Also, an overly nutritious mixture that is not appropriate for age can lead to constipation. If the newborn has a tendency to constipation, then it is better not to rush to replace the mixture with a more “adult” version.
The introduction of complementary foods can also cause constipation, because the child is offered food of a completely new, denser consistency and often higher calorie content. In this case, be sure to keep a food diary and note the body's reaction to each new dish: if constipation is noted after taking certain foods (for example, rice, bananas), it is better to exclude them from the menu until the baby grows up. And whole cow's milk is generally contraindicated for a child under one year old (one of the problems that it provokes is also constipation).
A newborn who is malnourished can also have a problem with constipation: feces simply do not have anything to form in sufficient quantities, they “stale” in the intestines, compacting and making it difficult for themselves to move out. In this case, check the portions that the baby eats in one feeding: are they appropriate for the age and weight of the child? It is also important to pay attention to the nipple on the bottle: if it is too tight, with a very small hole, it will be difficult for the baby to suckle and he will stop sucking without even eating enough - simply because of fatigue.
Among the causes of constipation and lack of fluid in the body. Babies on artificial feeding must be supplemented with water, after 3-4 months - with baby tea, and after 6 months - compote. If the newborn was breastfed, and then he was transferred to the mixture, the parents can act as they are used to - that is, only feed without adding liquid, and then the stool is simply difficult to be excreted from the body, it becomes too dry and dense. And staying in a hot house with dry air in winter, or exposure to dry summer heat for several days in a row leads to dehydration of the body and can also cause constipation.
Babies also have constipation as a reaction to a stressful situation: separation from their mother, fear of losing her, getting into an unfamiliar environment without parents (for example, in a hospital) often also provokes a similar condition.
Physiological anomalies also occur: the anus may be too narrow, or the rectum too wide, in any case, the development of such children is closely monitored by a pediatrician.

How to help the baby?

Give him enough physical activity and mobility, make vigorous movements with the legs, pulling them up to the tummy (as when riding a bicycle) and pressing them tightly against it, and also spread them on the stomach before each feeding;
Massage the tummy by moving your hand in a circle in a clockwise direction;
Let him drink more (in addition to ordinary water, there may be dill water, fennel tea, and for babies who are already receiving complementary foods, prepare prunes compote, freshly squeezed plum juice or plum puree);
Warm baths often help, as they have a relaxing effect;
Try also using glycerin suppositories: they help soften hardened stools and lubricate the anus, making it more elastic and slippery, making it easier for hard stools to pass;
In any case, if there is no stool for more than 3 days, and all the “light” measures you have taken do not help, be sure to tell your pediatrician about this. If the child does not have anatomical pathologies of the intestinal structure, leading to constipation, most likely, the doctor will prescribe an enema as an extreme measure: it cannot be abused, as it washes beneficial microorganisms from the intestines. Also, the doctor can prescribe mild laxatives created specifically for babies up to a year old, for example, Duphalac (drugs for adults from constipation should not be given to babies).

Diarrhea for artificial babies is much less common than constipation, but it also occurs, and mothers need to be prepared to deal with this situation correctly.

Diarrhea is considered to be a completely liquid stool (not mushy, but rather the consistency of liquid sour cream and even more rare). Often, diarrhea is accompanied by bloating, frequent bowel movements, an unpleasant sour smell, and skin irritation in the diaper area, as such stools are highly acidic.

More often causes of diarrhea are dysbacteriosis, intestinal infection, too early introduction of complementary foods, changing the mixture for feeding, teething period and intolerance to certain foods and dishes.

In the first case, it is necessary to take prebiotics and probiotics, preparations based on bifidobacteria will be an excellent solution. The fact is that dysbacteriosis is a violation of the balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the stomach and intestines: if antibiotics are prescribed to a child, the beneficial microflora dies, and it has to be repopulated. This explains the fact that after suffering diseases with antibiotic treatment, the child often gets "after" new problems: dysbacteriosis and diarrhea. To prevent this from happening, when treating the underlying disease, be sure to also take drugs that will preserve the intestinal flora (for example, Bifidumbacterin or Lactobacterin).
If the cause of diarrhea is an infection (with food poisoning or hygiene problems), then the baby will also experience vomiting and high fever. Due to inflammation of the walls of the small intestine, streaks of mucus and blood may also appear in the stool. Intestinal infection in newborns with artificial feeding is a common occurrence, because they do not receive immunomodulators that breastfeeding babies absorb with mother's milk, and therefore their immunity is less strong and the body is less protected. To defeat the infection, the doctor will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibacterial drug.
Problems with diarrhea during the introduction of complementary foods are also a fairly common thing. Until now, there are “specialists” who recommend too early complementary foods, at 2-4 months, to which the body very often reacts with diarrhea, since the stomach is not yet ready for such a load. But even if complementary foods were introduced on time (for artificially fed children, it is recommended by WHO from 5 months old), certain products may not be digested, and they will have to be abandoned. Just keep a diary of complementary foods and note what exactly the baby gave a negative reaction to. And products such as whole milk of animals (cows, goats) and fatty foods in general should be excluded from the diet of a baby up to a year. Give juices with caution - they have a lot of sugar, and it contributes to the formation of more loose stools, as it is difficult for the body to digest.
If you decide to change the mixture, weigh the pros and cons, and don't do it without good reason, just out of curiosity and a penchant for experimentation. The baby's stomach is very delicate, abrupt changes are harmful to it, and therefore babies often react to a change in the mixture with diarrhea. Between two equally good formulas for newborns, always choose the usual one.
When babies are teething, their body becomes especially vulnerable to infections, moreover, it is sensitive to any irritants, and therefore diarrhea often occurs these days.
However, the most difficult cases requiring medical intervention, long-term treatment and constant monitoring are some diseases characterized by intolerance to certain types of food: celiac disease (calcine, shiny and fetid) that manifests itself with the introduction of cereal complementary foods and a congenital disruption of the endocrine system - cystic fibrosis (extremely frequent foul-smelling stools of increased viscosity). In both cases, treatment is prescribed by a doctor.
It is also important to know that diarrhea can be one of the symptoms of appendicitis, peritonitis, and volvulus, so in any case, with diarrhea, it is important to consult a doctor who will evaluate all the symptoms in a comprehensive manner and prescribe the necessary treatment.

How to help the baby?

The most dangerous consequence of diarrhea is dehydration. The baby becomes lethargic, drowsy and weak, his skin dries up and a rash may appear on the body, a large fontanelle sinks, and the urine becomes very dark and he rarely pees. To help in this situation, they often supplement it (every 10-20 minutes), prescribe a special drug - Regidron, and try to eliminate the causes of the situation: treat dysbacteriosis or intestinal infection, or remove complementary foods that caused diarrhea from the diet.
The doctor also prescribes drugs to the child that kill the intestinal infection. The most effective are Furazolidone, as well as Nifuroxazide and Levomycetin. When choosing a medicine for newborns, do not self-medicate and do not prescribe dosages for yourself, all the more so - do not use drugs intended for adults, always consult a doctor in doubtful cases (if you do not call the doctor at home, take a diaper with a chair to the clinic ).
For feeding, prepare the mixture much more liquid than usual - you will return to a normal consistency only after recovery.

In addition to the usual diarrhea, parents are often scared by a particularly unpleasant variety - green feces from a bottle-fed baby. During the neonatal period (that is, the first 5-7 days after birth), the baby, as we already know, can have dark greenish feces - this is meconium, the original feces, which is absolutely normal: in this way the intestines are cleared of the remnants of amniotic fluid, epithelial tissues and so on. But if a green tint appears in the stool of older children, this is a dangerous sign, but there can be many reasons for it:

Lactose indigestibility (in this case, the stool will be not only green, but also with foam and a very unpleasant sour smell) is a dangerous condition in which the baby has severe toxicosis of the whole organism. In this case, the use of any whole milk is excluded.
Foamy green stools are also observed in another disease dangerous for the baby - staphylococcal enterocolitis, which requires immediate medical attention;
Diarrhea with greenery, accompanied by vomiting and high fever, is also dangerous - these are signs of a rotavirus infection in infants, the doctor prescribes treatment.
If the green stool has black blotches (thickened traces of blood) - we can talk about problems with the digestive system as a whole (congenital pathologies are possible), and this also requires prompt medical intervention.
Green loose stools with mucus and sometimes grains of blood, which is accompanied by frequent regurgitation (not only after feeding), incessant anxiety and crying of the baby due to constant pain in the tummy, as well as skin rashes, is a symptom of dysbacteriosis.
When the formula you choose is high in iron, green diaper contents are also possible. If the general condition of the baby is good, the consistency of the poop is normal and there are no more complaints, there is nothing to worry about in this color of the stool. But if any other warning signs appear, consult your pediatrician and change the mixture.
If the stool is green and with mucus, this signals to us that the digestive system is immature - it does not have enough enzymes to process and ensure the absorption of food. Green color(together with undigested pieces) can be observed after the introduction of complementary foods to which the body has not yet adapted. This means that you need to wait a bit with complementary foods, or give your body time to adjust to a new type of food.

How to help the baby?

The first step will be the delivery of tests - it is impossible to guess about the reasons and waste time on the selection of options in this case. You will need to take a diaper with a stool and bring it to the laboratory for analysis, but inform your doctor first. If the baby has an infection in the body, tests will reveal it and it will be possible to prescribe adequate treatment.
The second point is bacterial culture, which will determine the composition of the intestinal microflora, identifying pathogenic organisms and determining the balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria for the body. With dysbacteriosis (lack of useful natural microflora), the baby will be prescribed drugs that will help beneficial bacteria settle in the intestines (usually Linex, Lactobacterin, Acipol and other drugs).
Reduce the portions of feedings and make them more often - so it will be easier for the child to cope with the digestion and assimilation of food. For the future, also try not to overfeed the baby, so as not to disrupt the digestive system. “I ate well” and “ate a lot” are not synonyms!
One way or another, diarrhea, temperature and the general poor condition of the child (lethargy, capriciousness, constant crying) are the basis for consulting a doctor without self-medication.

Be attentive to your children and take care of them. Good luck!

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Immediately after giving birth, new parents face a lot of problems. It is necessary to accustom the baby to the chest, constantly change his diapers, do massages, bathe, monitor the temperature regime. This is superimposed by the struggle with drowsiness and despair caused by a lack of understanding of the reasons for the crying of the child.

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

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

The color and smell of bowel movements: what should they be

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

In the period from 2 to 6 days from the date of birth, the child's stool may change its color to grayish or gray-green, become thicker (the consistency of a semi-liquid ointment). This is true for all healthy children during adaptation to a new way of getting food. From the second week, the feces become yellowish-mustard, sometimes brown with a mild sour-milk odor. The consistency of the bulk is watery, there are white small grains. Such a chair indicates the normal functioning of the digestive tract of the child. A slight presence of mucus or a green tint with a stable weight gain is considered the norm.

A variant of the norm is the case when the child's feces are light Brown or very dark brown. Small greenish inclusions are allowed. According to the consistency, two requirements are imposed on the contents of the diaper - it should not be liquid, like water, too dense feces are unacceptable. The smell can be strong and unpleasant. This situation is typical in relation to children who are on mixed feeding. Similar indicators appear with the introduction of complementary foods.

It happens that pieces of undigested food are clearly visible in the diaper. If this is rare, then you should not worry. Depending on the food, feces can turn orange or burgundy color. This is typical after eating carrots or beets.

Bowel frequency

At the age of up to 6 weeks, with breastfeeding, the baby is emptied 4-12 times a day. With age, the frequency of stools will decrease significantly. By two months, a child can please parents with odorous stools both 4 times a day and 1-2 times in a five-day period. These are reference indicators, a slight deviation in one direction or another, subject to the norm of color, smell and consistency, is considered acceptable.

Young parents sometimes confuse normal loose stools with diarrhea. Even if the child is emptied once a day, but very plentifully (up to the outflow of feces from the diaper), you should not sound the alarm. In some children, the intestines work in such a way that bowel movements appear rarely, but in large volumes. This is not a pathological change. You should be worried if emptying occurs more than 12 times a day. In this case, the stool masses will not just be liquid, but watery, they will flow from above, below, and along the sides of the diaper.

The absence of a chair in a child for 4-5 days in a row, followed by a successful bowel movement and with a normal consistency of the mass should not cause a change in the daily menu. This is a variant of the norm, and therefore the possibility of any mechanical impact on the child in order to speed up emptying is excluded. In no case should you give the 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 where the baby's stools are normal in color, but they are too liquid or slightly foamy, they emit a sharp sour-milk smell, require increased attention from parents, especially when breastfeeding. If the presence of irritation in the anus is added to the listed signs, and the baby himself began to behave very restlessly, is naughty during meals and after it, and is underweight, then this indicates a lack of hind milk in the diet. It is higher in calories, less sweet, and contains the enzymes needed to break down milk sugars. All this is not in the foremilk, so you just need to change the breast less often.

If there is a large amount of mucus in the stool, and the feces are green, yellow or brown, then you need to focus on the behavior and well-being of the baby. If this fact does not bother him, then medical assistance 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 feces can be both a variant of the norm and a pathology. If the child has recently taken iron supplements, then there is no need to worry. You should consult a doctor if there was no additional intake of 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 losing it. The reason may lie in allergies, poisoning or an infectious disease. Hard feces, coming out in small parts with constant strong tension in the abdomen, accompanied by the screaming and crying of the baby, indicates constipation. The reason may be in complementary foods with an ingredient that is not suitable for the child, or in the wrong diet for the mother.

Foamed green feces, which appears along with a specific "cotton", which has a sharp sour smell, indicates a pathology. If irritation and redness appear around the anus, plus everything, then you should immediately go for a consultation with a doctor. Usually, with such symptoms, children stop gaining weight and are constantly naughty, behaving extremely restlessly. The reason is lactose deficiency, both primary and secondary.

The appearance of blood in the feces, both liquid scarlet and black blood clots, should lead to an urgent call to the hospital. Most often, this is provoked by an allergic reaction to the protein contained in cow's milk, and can also be one of the symptoms of the development of bacterial infections. According to the results of the examination, hemorrhoids or intestinal bleeding can be diagnosed. Both problems require immediate treatment. A case with digested blood clots may indicate that the mother's nipples are damaged, and the baby with milk swallows the blood oozing from the cracks in the chest. For a newborn, this option is safe, although it is better not to allow such a scenario.

If there are violations of the intestines, you should seek medical help. This will help to diagnose pathological changes in the child's body in time, accelerate the subsequent normalization of the stool and restore the rate of weight gain. The fundamental recommendations of doctors often come down to changing the technique of breastfeeding.

Among them:

feeding should take place in a position that is comfortable for the mother and the newborn;
it is important that the child correctly grasps the breast and does not suck only the nipple;
in some cases, it is necessary to increase the production of milk by more frequent attachments to the baby's breast, decanting after each feeding;
special attention should be paid to ensure that the baby receives enough hind milk;
it is impossible to artificially limit the duration of feeding sessions;
in the first months of life, the crumbs should not try to feed according to the regime, it is much better to do it on demand.

Always carefully examine the contents of the baby's diaper - this will make it possible to respond in a timely manner to any pathological change. But panic at the slightest inconsistency with the norm is also not worth it.

Useful video

Stool in infants: what color, frequency and consistency is normal

Breastfeeding of newborns is a natural process. But nonetheless, modern woman he needs to learn. Breast milk has a positive effect on the baby's digestive tract and provokes the formation of an unusual, in the opinion of an adult, stool. The contents of the children's intestines are very worried about mothers. What should be the normal stool in a newborn baby when breastfeeding and when should I see a doctor?

In the first 2-3 days after birth, just while the baby is in the hospital, he defecates in a dark green dense mass. This is called meconium - the original feces. Mom observes 2-3 stools of the child a day. Sometimes the meconium does not pass well, and then the pediatric nurse can help the baby with a special massage, including the tummy. Or even an enema.

On days 3-4, the frequency of stools in a newborn with HB usually increases. The baby begins to defecate after each feeding. And this means up to 7-8 times a day. The stool becomes bright yellow and liquid. In general, loose stools in a newborn during breastfeeding are the absolute norm. Most likely, he will remain so until he is introduced to complementary foods. And that means up to 6 months. The stool of a newborn with white lumps is also a variant of the norm. Many mothers notice it even in the maternity hospital and even save their children's soiled diapers on purpose, so that later they can show it to nurses and doctors. And these white lumps are just undigested mother's milk. More often this is observed in children who eat an artificial mixture, but it also happens in infants in the first weeks of life. Regardless of the frequency of their stool and its appearance.

There are babies who have stool even in the first months of life 1-3 times a day. And this is also an absolute norm. The color of a newborn's stool is normally very variable and often depends on the mother's diet. For example, if she ate a lot of cucumbers, then the feces may turn green. About the correct diet for breastfeeding women need to be told separately.

Feeding a nursing mother

There is an opinion that she should have a very meager diet in order to avoid problems with the intestines and skin of the child. That you can not eat vegetables and fruits of bright colors, foods and spices that can change the taste of milk (for example, fresh onions, garlic, hot peppers), legumes.

In fact, the diet can be almost the same as before childbirth. The main condition is moderation. After all, even dairy, which is usually advised to all mothers, can cause great harm to the child if used without measure. Any protein for an infant is a potential allergen if it enters the digestive tract in large quantities. That is, sour milk is good. But you do not need to drink more than a glass of kefir per day. But it is better to refrain from whole milk. After all, it is in it that the highest concentration of protein is poorly absorbed by the body of infants. Often, the use of milk by mothers leads to severe gas formation in their children. Digestion baby not perfect.

Eating legumes, in particular pea soup, is unlikely to affect the baby's intestines. But eating it 2 in a plate a day is not worth it. Eat a small portion to start and see if the baby has a reaction within a day.

Here's what you definitely shouldn't eat while the child is exclusively breastfed, which means that he drinks about a liter of mother's milk a day, so these are citrus fruits and chocolate, since they are the ones who provoke allergies in the child more often than other products. You can eat red apples, peppers, peaches, etc., but start gradually.

With the introduction of complementary foods, the stool in an infant becomes less frequent, denser and no longer depends so much on the nature of the mother's diet, since part of the mother's milk has already been replaced by other products.

How to normalize the stool of a newborn while breastfeeding

Despite the fact that breast milk in itself has a beneficial effect on the child's digestive tract, problems and questions still arise.

How to interpret the absence of stool in a breastfed newborn for 1-2-3 or more days? How to provoke a bowel movement in a child, how long can you wait for a stool and how does constipation threaten him?

Doctors say that constipation in a breastfed newborn, even for 1-2 days, deserves attention. First, mom is recommended to start eating foods with a laxative effect. For example, fresh cucumbers, vegetable salads seasoned with vegetable oil, prunes and more. If it does not help, give the child lactulose syrup. And if a green stool is observed in a newborn, then, most likely, they will give a referral to donate feces for dysbacteriosis.

What do experts abroad think about it? In Europe and America, no one gives an analysis for dysbacteriosis, since it is completely uninformative. green chair at healthy child is a variant of the norm. As for the so-called constipation, then, most often, it is not constipation at all. Just breast milk is very good, completely absorbed by the baby's body. So there are no by-products left. There is a soft, normal stool when breastfeeding a newborn even once every 7 days! You can wait that long if the child feels well, does not have a tummy ache, and does not look tense.

Very often, the stool of a newborn child on mixed feeding begins to linger. This is already explained not by the good digestibility of food, but by the addiction of the child's body to supplementary feeding. For this reason, among other things, doctors do not advise women to experiment with baby food. The situation is resolved when choosing a mixture suitable for the child. Usually sour milk.

Frequent and frothy stools in a breastfed newborn

If the baby’s stool is observed more than 8 times a day, while it has an unpleasant odor, usually very sour, swampy in color, foams, includes mucus, then there are three options - either mommy broke the diet, and the child’s intestines reacted to it in this way, or there is lactase deficiency in the child, or there is an intestinal infection. In case of illness, they usually not only notice the feces of a newborn with mucus, but also an increase in body temperature, abdominal pain, a general deterioration in well-being, and vomiting. Intestinal infection is very dangerous for children of the first year of life. And he is treated in a hospital, in the infectious diseases department.

If there is no infection, the child's health is generally normal, the doctor will recommend taking a coprogram. With its help, one can assume secondary lactase deficiency (an increased level of carbohydrates according to the analysis, by the way, with yellow stools of a breast-fed newborn) or inflammation of the intestine (a large number of leukocytes and mucus).

In principle, both states pass independently. The mother is required to normalize her diet and follow the well-known recommendations for breastfeeding - give only one breast at a time, so that the baby completely empties it. Thus, the child will fully receive not only foremilk, rich in milk sugar (which provokes fermentation processes in the intestines), but also hindmilk, rich in fats.

Remember, it’s not so important how many times a day a newborn’s stool should normally be while breastfeeding and what color, the most important thing is how the baby feels. And the reasons for an urgent visit to the pediatrician are:

blood in the stool;
more than 10 stools per day;
black stool (indicates the presence of blood in it from the upper intestines or stomach).