Nutrition and diet 

Why loose stools in a newborn baby. Short-term reasons for rejection. Causes and symptoms of diarrhea in an infant

The question of the baby's bowel movements worries all mothers, every single one, as soon as he is born. The appearance of feces can change for no apparent reason or be a vivid reaction to a disease. Let's see what a normal stool is and what an abnormality is.

Why does a newborn have yellow liquid stools?

The process of formation of digestion in a child is very slow. Since he feeds exclusively on breast milk, his feces are very different from that of an older child.

It is liquid food that gives the feces a thin, but not watery consistency. As soon as the child begins to receive complementary foods, the color, smell and type of stool will immediately change. This is why a newborn has loose yellow stools. It is a natural look and color that can range from light to dark yellow.

Artificial children using the mixture have a thicker stool consistency, similar in density to sour cream. In color, the feces are not too different from breastfed babies. Depending on the brand of the mixture, from its vitamin composition, the feces will also differ.

Why does the type of chair change?

Liquid yellow stools in a newborn can suddenly change - have inclusions of mucus, a pungent, unpleasant odor, become more green. All these changes are typical for a situation when mom has introduced a new product into her diet or abused something unlawful. If the baby is cheerful and cheerful with such a change in feces, he is not tormented by gaziks, then soon everything will be fine.

But when the changes in the stool were joined by pains in the tummy, as evidenced by a sharp pulling of the legs to it, and then their sharp straightening, then it is possible that intestinal toxicoinfection takes place.

It will not be possible to determine this without consulting a doctor, so you will have to call him at home. The doctor may recommend testing for the correct diagnosis, because often such symptoms hide or.

But if a high temperature has joined the pain and loose stools, you need to immediately contact the hospital of the children's clinic, since the body of a newborn baby is quickly dehydrated and this is very dangerous for his health.

If a mother notices a yellow, liquid and frothy stool in a newborn, it is recommended to take a lactose assimilation test. This picture is typical for children who, due to congenital reasons, cannot assimilate nutrients from milk and need medical nutrition.

If it is not possible to urgently consult a doctor, it is recommended to express the front liquid milk, and let the baby suck more than the back. So it will be possible to influence the absorption of nutrients and save the child from foam in the stool.

Breastfeeding a baby is not an easy period and, frankly, requires many abstinence so as not to provoke digestive problems in your baby. Recall that during the first two months of its life, the baby's digestive system is still developing.

Loose stools in a newborn does not always indicate a health problem and the onset of any illness. Inexperienced parents may be very perplexed by this, but we hasten to calm them down, this is how the maturation of the body looks like, adaptation to the world and new food. Stool frequency in infants will increase after about the fourth day of life. Usually the stool is mushy, light in color, practically odorless. It can be taken immediately after feeding, or two or three times a day.

The less frequent bowel movements, the fewer calories your baby gets.

By the age of two months, the baby's stool will become more systematic and regular.

2. Causes of loose stools in infants during breastfeeding

Do not worry about loose baby stools, let's try to figure out the main causes and problems together. The causes of loose stools can be:
1.Infection. One of the explanations for this problem is intestinal infection. Unfortunately, even with very clean and hygienic parents, this is possible. The fact is that the baby's body is still beginning to form, and the protective functions of the stomach are weak.

Often microorganisms that are not dangerous for an adult, cause significant damage to the newborn.


An infectious disease occurs abruptly, with pain in the tummy, the child cries a lot. Sometimes a high fever rises;
2. Dysbacteriosis. A common cause of loose stools in children. Reaction to various drugs, antibiotics. Stool consistency varies. And the treatment for this reason is the intake of probiotics in a return dosage. And which ones, of course, only the pediatrician will tell you;
3. Violation of proper nutrition of the mother. Improper nutrition of the mother or child can also cause the baby's diarrhea, the use of foods that contribute to the liquefaction of the stool, such as cucumbers, beets, apples, pears, etc. A reaction to the introduction of new products can also be manifested in this way. to which the baby's body is not yet used;
4. Intolerance to certain foods. Separately, I would like to highlight the congenital intolerance of the child's body, specific components. This is due to the pathology and deficiency of enzymes, which is the reason for the disruption of the intestinal digestive process. Pathology manifests itself gradually. The medical name for this is malabsorption syndrome;
5. Teeth. Not always loose stools, indicative of intestinal diseases. When the first teeth appear in infancy, diarrhea is common. This happens mainly after the age of six months, but it also happens at four or even three months.
but, if something really worries you, contact a specialist and consult, only a competent doctor can identify the exact cause and prescribe a course of treatment or dispel your suspicions.

The correct treatment for loose stools is supported individually, depending on the cause of the occurrence. Of the general rules, it is worth highlighting only that with loose stools, a lot of water is lost, dehydration may occur. To avoid this, give saline solution - oralit or rehydron. Also, the drug enterodesis is a part of activated carbon, and it is known to have an absorbing effect of all toxins. Any of these means, it is advised to have in the home medicine cabinet all the time. Give your baby to drink, both from a bottle and with a pipette, in small doses so as not to provoke vomiting. Ordinary boiled water is not enough, it is important to give salty water in order to restore the water balance.

In addition to solutions, you can give smecta, polyphepan, enterosgel. These medicines are like a sponge, absorbing toxins that have entered the stomach. However, this does not completely kill bacteria. Also, review your diet to exclude provoking foods from it, they include apples, cucumbers, etc. (for a more detailed list, see our article: "Nutrition while breastfeeding."

Loose stools in newborns are similar to water and, as mentioned earlier, it is quite common in the first days of life. But if the baby is less than three months old, and you have already changed the diaper for the fourth or even five times, then do not self-medicate and urgently call a pediatrician. You can heal yourself, at best, to constipation. Be careful!

What is suitable for an adult, in case of illness, can harm the baby.


During the infection, food should be continued, but in smaller amounts. Babies on artificial feeding are advised to feed fermented milk mixtures. When feeding, you can add half a Mezim-Forte tablet. Monitor your baby's reaction to the foods you eat, but it can change, so the baby adapts. Liquid stool in a child, as we have already said, is due to intolerance to certain foods, namely the enzymes that they contain. To identify which, you and your baby will have to go to the clinic and get tested.

This is a disease, which is popularly called intolerance to certain enzymes in foods, namely not the ability to perceive them. It is divided into two types:
1. Lactase deficiency is milk intolerance and manifests itself from the very birth of a child, while breastfeeding. Stool in case of insufficiency with foam, greenery, colic and vomiting.
The baby must be switched to lactose-free food and within a month the condition will return to normal.
2. Celiac disease is a disease of the damaged small intestine. With this disease, the body is not able to digest the cereal category of foods, such as wheat, oats, rye. This problem manifests itself in the first four months after the introduction of these products into the diet. Stools with foam and oily sheen, frequent. It is enough to exclude these foods from the diet and the state to recover.


Often, the protein found in artificial mixtures is foreign, for example, from cow's milk or soy. This is of little benefit to an infant, unlike breast milk. Allergic inflammation in the stomach may develop, and lactase production will be disrupted. Such processes are rarely manifested by a skin rash and outwardly it is not noticeable. At the same time, there are malfunctions of absorption of many substances in the intestine, impaired digestion of lactase. And for this, if a child on mixed feeding has diarrhea for a long time, it is necessary to be tested for allergens.

Causes of loose stools in infants

There are a great many reasons for the occurrence of loose stools. Single liquid bowel movements often pose no threat to the baby.

Liquid stool in infants treatment

If you have frequent loose stools that cause severe anxiety, urgent medical attention is needed. But even before the arrival of doctors, you can try to alleviate the condition of the child.

Frequent urge to defecate threatens dehydration. Therefore, you should give the baby as much liquid as possible.

You should not give your child medicines or folk remedies on your own.

It is necessary to regularly measure body temperature, monitor the general condition of the patient.

There is no need to stop breastfeeding. And it is better to refrain from other products. In this case, a nursing mother must adhere to a strict diet.

In order to prevent diaper rash, you should use dusting powder or baby powder after each bowel movement. From time to time, you can lubricate the skin with baby cream.

After examination, the doctor will prescribe the most rational treatment. With severe dehydration, electrolyte solutions are prescribed. If diarrhea is caused by an infection or dysbiosis, antibiotics will help.

Sorbents (activated carbon, enerosgel), imodium have a beneficial effect.

Green loose stools in infants

Liquid bowel movements of a green tint, accompanied by frequent urge to defecate, an unpleasant odor and skin irritation, can mean the development of enteritis. Green color indicates that the causative agent is Salmonella.

Liquid green stools with mucus also occur with dysbiosis or inflammatory diseases. Intestinal infection is possible. In this case, a pungent odor is noted.

When taking antibiotics, the intestinal microflora is disturbed, the feces can become liquid and green. In this case, various probiotics are prescribed.

The baby has liquid yellow stools

Yellow stool is not observed in acute decay processes, usually it is associated with a violation of the diet, with nervous disorders, and some infectious diseases.

With enteritis caused by staphylococcal infection, there is a liquid yellow, almost lemon-like stool. Stool has an unpleasant, pungent odor and can cause irritation.

Liquid, pale yellow stools that persist for a long time indisputably indicate malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract.

Loose, frothy stools in infants

Loose, frothy stools are noted when:

  • inadequate nutrition.
  • imbalance of back and front milk. If the nipple is not properly gripped, so that a lot of air enters the stomach during feeding. The result is increased gassing.
  • lactase deficiency. In this case, a sour aroma will come from the feces.
  • incorrect introduction of complementary foods or with an allergic reaction to food. The feces will be greenish in color.

Newborn babies often have problems with digestion and bowel movements. A symptom such as loose stools in a breastfed baby is manifested when the gastrointestinal tract is not yet fully formed. It should be borne in mind that when keeping a baby on artificial feeding, his stool will be harder than that of a child feeding on mother's milk.

It is normal if it does not bring any worries, accompanied by the deterioration of the child's condition. Feces can have a different consistency and color - yellow, green, brown.

With changes in the color shades of the stool, you should not worry, because this is the way the baby's body reacts to the food received from the mother. For example, if a breastfeeding woman consumes dairy food, the baby will react to her milk with yellow stools, and when eating plant foods, the stool will turn green.

Due to the body's reaction to food that is easily digested, curdled lumps with a sour smell may appear in the child's feces, which is also the norm.

However, a discharge supplemented with blood or mucus is not normal, so if these inclusions are found, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Signs of normal stool:

  • stable weight gain;
  • deep sleep;
  • lack of restless behavior.

Also, parents of a newborn should take into account that during the first 4 weeks of life, the baby often poops, and this process can occur about 10 times a day. Many children defecate after every meal. From 2 to 6 months, the frequency of bowel movements decreases to 3-5 times. After 6 months, children poop 1-2 times a day in small volumes.

Artificial feeding

With artificial feeding, feces parameters differ slightly from stool during breastfeeding. Firstly, in this case, the stool is darker in color, which has a yellowish or brownish tint.

If the mixture is improperly prepared, the feces may be too thick.

With artificial feeding, liver problems can occur, and then the feces will be bright yellow or orange. The presence of blood in the stool is indicated by the black color of the biomass.

Mixed feeding

With mixed feeding, the newborn's stool can be brownish, and the process of defecation has a frequency of only 1-2 times a day. When preparing a mixture that is too thick, the baby may form curdled particles in the feces - this process does not pose a threat to health if it disappears after a few days. Breast milk with mixed feeding can also cause stool changes.

This reaction is manifested due to an unbalanced diet, the use of foods or medicines prohibited for the baby.

If, with a mixed diet, loose stools are observed, in no case should you refuse to feed with breast milk, since it is in it that all the necessary trace elements are found for the proper development of the baby.

Unlike loose stools, diarrhea poses a health risk to the baby and needs to be recognized and treated quickly.

Signs of diarrhea:

  • increased frequency of bowel movements;
  • the presence of water in the stool;
  • sharp bowel movements, accompanied by gas and a strong sour odor;
  • bright green color of feces;
  • discharge is accompanied by mucus, foam, blood streaks;
  • there is a deterioration in the baby's condition;
  • bloating;
  • temperature may appear;
  • loss of appetite.

If diarrhea does not go away on its own within 3 days, you need to show the baby to the pediatrician. Otherwise, the child may become dehydrated.

What to do for parents


Symptoms of the disease

In some cases, loose stools can be the main symptom of a developing disease, so it is important to monitor the child's condition. An urgent need to call a doctor if the following symptoms are observed:


In no case should the treatment be delayed, since a long progressive course of the disease can disrupt the development of the baby.

How to restore stool

To normalize the stool in infants, doctors usually recommend using certain feeding techniques and principles.


Often, loose stools in an infant is a common occurrence that is within the normal range, but it is necessary to constantly monitor various changes in both feces and the general well-being of the newborn. If liquid feces began to be accompanied by mucus or blood, this indicates an illness that must be treated immediately. When other uncharacteristic signs appear, you need to seek help from a pediatrician.

Loose stools in breastfed babies are quite common and, as a rule, this is absolutely normal. A chair in a breastfed baby can tell a lot, in particular about the work of the digestive tract, proper or improper nutrition, the presence of infection, etc. That is why many new mothers monitor the baby's bowel movements very closely and are often worried about seeing a baby.

In fact, liquid feces in itself should not be a cause for concern, because a child who constantly eats only breast milk cannot have thick bowel movements. The thick consistency of feces will be when the child begins to eat more adult food, and his digestive organs are finally formed and will improve their functioning. Until this moment, the baby will have liquid stool.

1 Loose stools as a normal option

Liquid stool in a baby will be present invariably, this is how an unformed child's body works. The frequency of bowel movements per day can be up to 10 times in the first weeks of a child's life and about 2-5 times up to 6 months. Only the very first feces will be thick in the baby - dark and thick meconium. Further, many children may have problems, both with feces and the bowel movement itself. Typically, many sleepless nights pass before the baby's intestines adapt to a diet different from that of the mother's womb.

The color of feces in the first days of a baby's life can be yellow (the most ideal option), green, with the presence of foam, grains, etc. This is the norm, or rather the reaction of the intestines to breast milk. Usually, by the end of the first month, the feces become more homogeneous, and it will be possible to judge the state of the digestive system from it. Parents should be alerted by dark feces, with blood streaks, which may indicate the presence of internal bleeding. With a similar symptom, you should immediately consult a doctor.

A baby can defecate with liquid feces, which is not yet 2 months old, after each feeding. This is due to the fact that its intestinal flora is sterile from birth and in the process of life will only begin to be populated with beneficial microorganisms. Enzyme production in infants is very weak, and due to the anatomical arrangement of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, food quickly passes and is digested.

2 Cause for concern

Loose stools in a breastfed baby may also indicate any disturbances in the body. You can distinguish normal baby stools from diarrhea by some signs:

  • an increase in the frequency of the act of defecation (more than 8-10 times a day);
  • a change in the consistency of the stool (it acquires a more liquid structure);
  • bowel movements appear abruptly, as if under pressure;
  • the smell of feces becomes more sour, unpleasant;
  • normal loose yellow stools change color to green;
  • stool may contain small amounts of foam, blood, or mucus.

In addition to changes in the act of defecation, the color and consistency of the stool, unpleasant symptoms may appear, manifested in the form of poor sleep, loss of appetite, moodiness, and a rise in body temperature. The child will become restless due to colic, increased gas production. After eaten breast milk, profuse regurgitation may become more frequent.

Diarrhea in a child is not always a serious pathology. It often goes away on its own within a short period of time, without any therapy. If this does not happen, then it is better to show the child to the pediatrician to establish the cause of the diarrhea. This is especially true in those cases where liquid, like water, stool appears against the background of a rise in body temperature.

3 How do parents respond?

Stool in a breastfeeding newborn can be runny for many reasons. This can usually be corrected at home by the mother herself. Since the child is breastfed from birth, his mother's milk is fed to him, which contains everything that the mother herself ate. It is the malnutrition of the nursing mother that most often causes the baby's stool disorder. In this case, the situation can be corrected by correcting the mother's nutrition.

In order for the child's intestines to work well and he cocoa on time, ate a lot and slept soundly, you should add to your mother's food:

  • lightly salted porridge (rice, buckwheat);
  • steamed or boiled fish;
  • chamomile and mint tea;
  • fish soups;
  • boiled lean meat;
  • fermented milk natural products with a low percentage of fat.

Many pediatricians advise a nursing woman to eat the food that he ate while carrying a child, with the exception of semi-finished products, fatty foods, foods with a large number of unnatural ingredients. You should not eat and smoked meats, especially lard, fatty fish, sausages, etc. You need to refrain from eggs, cakes, freshly baked flour products, sour and spicy dishes.

Very often, loose stools in a newborn during breastfeeding are observed when his mother adheres to a vegetarian diet. A large amount of vegetables, herbs and fruits in the mother's diet will invariably affect the density of the child's stool. If, in addition to liquid feces, there are no other unpleasant symptoms in the form of colic, restless sleep and behavior, then such a chair can be considered a variant of the norm.

Initially, the menu of a nursing mother should be moderately dietary. All new products should be introduced gradually, recording the reaction to them in a specially designated notebook. This will help to trace the reaction of the child's body to the new product and, if necessary, cancel it, introducing it a little later.

With the appearance of loose stools in newborns, you do not need to give up breastfeeding and switch to artificial nutrition. Unfortunately, this is a problem for many mothers, who attribute the disorder of the baby's stool to poor-quality breast milk. This is fundamentally wrong, moreover, in addition to nutrition, milk contains a large amount of useful vitamins and minerals that have a positive effect on the immune system. In some cases, it is breast milk that saves the baby's body from a large loss of fluid in case of poisoning, dysbiosis, etc.

If the baby has frequent loose green stools, then this may be due to a violation of the feeding process. In particular, such a problem is observed in those children who are alternately applied to both breasts, as a result of which the child sucks out liquid fore milk, while the more nutritious and fatty milk remains in the mother's breast. You can correct the situation by applying the baby to one breast until it completely empties it. In the first month, when the baby will suck very little, milk from the second breast must be expressed in order to maintain lactation and the shape of the mammary glands.

4 Reason to see a doctor

Violation of the act of defecation in a child, when loose stools are present quite often and the situation does not change when the mother corrects her diet, should alert parents and become a reason for contacting a specialist. This must be done even if the baby has a hard and puffy tummy, he is restless, often screams and sleeps very little.

Loose stools should also alert the parents of the baby, in which there is loss or poor weight gain, lack of appetite, vomiting, and high body temperature. All these symptoms in combination are extremely dangerous for the baby, so a visit to the doctor should be immediate. They cannot be ignored, because they are a signal of serious violations that are dangerous to the health and life of the child.

If liquid yellow stools suddenly change to an alarming, watery consistency that has an unpleasant rotten smell, you should immediately examine the child from a doctor. So often infectious diseases associated with the penetration of bacteria into the child's intestines are manifested. This happens mainly in those children whose mothers, in addition to breast milk, offer the child water from dubious sources (tap, well, etc.), do not observe hygiene in the house, their own and baby's hygiene, and poorly disinfect the child's toys. As a result, all pathogenic microorganisms easily penetrate into the sterile organism of the crumbs and begin their active destructive life there.

Unfortunately, a common diagnosis in babies is dysbiosis. Often it appears when the mother, during pregnancy or after delivery, took antibacterial drugs for health reasons. Stool with dysbiosis is liquid, green, with the presence of mucus and grains. To clarify the diagnosis, you will need to undergo an examination and pass the necessary tests.

It can be observed at. With this violation, in addition to loose stools, the child will experience a lack of body weight, an increased restless state of the baby. You can make a diagnosis with a doctor, by passing feces for analysis. Without this, it is impossible to determine the absence of lactase as an enzyme in a child's body.

5 Short-term reasons for rejection

Occasionally, problems with stool can occur in newborns intermittently. The most common cause is teething at 4-7 months. Few children endure this period easily and without complications. Basically, children develop a high temperature, which is almost impossible to bring down without the use of injectable antipyretic drugs, diarrhea begins, and sometimes severe vomiting.

Symptoms of teething in children are similar to the manifestation of purulent tonsillitis or poisoning. Medical help at this moment will help to transfer the moment of eruption without serious complications, and breast milk often saves the crumbs from dehydration. After the teeth creep through, the unpleasant symptoms will stop. It is very important during this period to protect the child from hypothermia, contact with a large number of people, so that any infection does not join against the background of a weakened immunity. All toys that the child takes in the mouth must be washed in boiled water with soda.

An allergic reaction to an introduced product into the diet can provoke loose stools. Often, babies are born to one degree or another with allergic manifestations to food. In addition to skin rashes, the baby will invariably have diarrhea, with particles of undigested food. It is not always possible to eliminate this problem on your own, especially if you are allergic to a large amount of food, so it is better to contact a qualified specialist.

Antibacterial drugs, which are prescribed to children for health reasons, treat bacteria, but have a detrimental effect on all beneficial microflora.

While taking antibiotics, babies often develop dysbiosis, which is accompanied by loose stools and other characteristic symptoms.

This can only be prevented by frequent breastfeeding and special drugs that help restore the intestinal microflora. We are talking about drugs "Bifidium", "Lactovit", "Bifidobacterin", etc. They should be given to the child in the appropriate dosage, diluted in a spoon with breast milk. These funds can also be drunk by the mother herself, as a result of which they will come with breast milk.

Loose stools in a child are not a cause for concern if the child is feeling and developing well. In other cases, a medical examination and consultation are required to rule out the presence of any violations. It is better to play it safe once again and show the child to a specialist than to run the problem and further only aggravate the situation.