The baby has become less likely to have stool causes. Liquid foamy stool. Note to breastfeeding mothers and new parents

28.07.2019

Normal stools in infants can be described in different ways: liquid or mushy, yellow or green, with particles of undigested food or without them, with a sour-milk or pungent odor. The quality and frequency of stools depend on nutrition, the age of the child, previous diseases and genetic predisposition.

The concept of "normal stool in an infant" in pediatrics is interpreted ambiguously and has a wide range of norms. A general analysis of feces in newborns and infants includes the following indicators: color, texture, smell, the presence of various impurities. These figures may change for various reasons. As a rule, they do not talk about any serious diseases. Changes in feces are usually associated with the type of feeding of the child, the period of adaptation of his digestive system to new conditions. Still, the very first sign of health is not the baby's feces, but well-being.

Color

The color of feces in infants can be different: bright yellow, orange, light yellow, light green, dark green, light brown. And all these "colors of the rainbow" are within the normal range. What determines the color of feces?

Type of feeding. If the baby is breastfed, the stools will be greener.
Reaction to drugs. These can be antibiotics, drugs that contain dyes or iron, activated charcoal. After taking the drugs, the stool may become much darker than usual. A “frightening” black stool in a baby after medication should not worry if the baby feels good.
Lure. With the introduction of complementary foods, the feces become greener. This is due to the increased content of bile.
Poor absorption of breast milk. In this case, the baby's stool will be either green or orange.
Reaction to bilirubin. Bilirubin is a yellow-brown bile pigment that appears as a result of the breakdown of blood proteins. Physiological jaundice occurs in 70% of newborns and resolves without treatment. Bilirubin is excreted from the child's body with urine and feces. Therefore, yellow, brown, orange stools in infants are often observed in the first month of life.
Stool discoloration (white stool). It can be a dangerous symptom of hepatitis. This infectious disease in newborns and children of the first year of life is rare, but has an unfavorable prognosis.
Dysbacteriosis. With an imbalance of beneficial intestinal microflora, a child has a light stool. The stool also becomes lighter during teething.

If only the color of the feces changes in a child, but the consistency, smell, presence or absence of impurities remain the same, then most likely the problem is in the type of nutrition, and not in some serious digestive disorder.

Consistency

One often comes across pictorial metaphors: the consistency of “thick sour cream”, “pea soup”, “mustard”, “mushy”. All this is about normal stool in children under one year old. Often there is a description: liquid, watery stools. This consistency (unlike the feces of children after a year and adults) is also considered a variant of the norm. After all, children receive only liquid milk food for the first six months of life. How to distinguish loose stools from diarrhea in an infant? According to the following indications:

the stool becomes not only liquid, but also watery;
the frequency of bowel movements increases significantly;
the smell of feces is unpleasant;
expressive yellow, green color;
temperature rise;
vomit;
a lot of mucus, foam, streaks of blood;
weakness and lethargy.

If a child has liquid yellow or green stools, with an admixture of mucus or foam, you need to look at the condition of the baby. If the baby is gaining weight, sleeping and awake when it is supposed to, do not worry. Poor sleep and appetite, colic and gas, moodiness, fever are good reasons to see a doctor.

Impurities in the stool

The feces of the baby can be heterogeneous, with various impurities.

White lumps in baby stool. These are just pieces of curdled milk. If there are too many of them, the baby overeats, his digestive system cannot cope with the volume of food during feeding, does not secrete enough enzymes. Usually such a baby quickly gains weight, and sometimes overfulfills. Indigestible food in the feces of a child can also appear after the start of complementary foods. These may be particles of indigestible fiber.
Slime . The presence of a small amount of mucus in the feces is a physiological norm. It is present in the feces of all children and adults. But if the inflammatory process begins in the body, its amount can increase dramatically. The appearance of mucus can have various causes: improper breastfeeding, inappropriate formula, overfeeding, premature introduction of complementary foods, atopic dermatitis, runny nose, intestinal infections, drug reactions, lactase and gluten deficiency, dysbacteriosis.
Foam. Most often, foam in the feces is a functional disorder, not associated with any pathologies and serious diseases. Often diarrhea in infants occurs with foam. A common cause can also be gas and colic in an infant, a reaction to anti-colic drugs, food allergies. Abundant foam can be a symptom of intestinal infections, dysbacteriosis.
Blood in stool. This is a more serious symptom that requires monitoring and seeking medical attention. The reasons may be the following: rectal fissures, atopic dermatitis, cow's milk protein allergy, intestinal inflammation, lactase deficiency, intestinal pathologies, polyps, helminthiasis, vitamin K deficiency. Streaks or clots of scarlet blood in the stool may indicate bleeding from the lower digestive systems.

When impurities appear, the general condition of the child should be monitored. If the temperature rises, the child loses appetite and weight, you should not postpone calling the doctor.

Newborn chair

A newborn should poop on the first day after birth. A baby's first stool is called meconium. It is a tar-like, sticky, viscous, black-green mass that has accumulated in the intestines during its stay in the womb. Meconium is difficult to wash off due to its consistency. It consists of amniotic fluid, mucus, bile, and digestive tract fluid. Meconium is a sign of a healthy digestive system. It will come out within a few days, after which the newborn will poop in the usual stool. If no meconium passes within 48 hours after birth, this may indicate intestinal pathology, in particular, Hirschsprung's disease. With this pathology, part of the intestine is not reduced, which makes it difficult for the movement of feces.

If the black feces in the child appeared later, this is no longer the original stool. The black color of stool (if it is not stained with food or drugs) may be associated with bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. You need to consult a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Chair while breastfeeding

The baby's stool during breastfeeding will change depending on the nutrition of the nursing mother and the maturation of the baby's digestive system.

Peculiarities

Breast milk has a laxative effect. After the baby begins to suck on the breast, the feces soften, become greenish in color and much thinner than meconium. Around the fifth day of life, feces appear that have the consistency and color of mustard or thick pea soup. The sour smell of stool in infants indicates a milky type of nutrition. Sometimes it can be more pronounced, sometimes less. If frothy and watery stools are added to the sour smell, this may indicate dysbacteriosis or lactase deficiency. Green liquid stools during breastfeeding are also the norm. This stool is referred to by some pediatricians and breastfeeding specialists as "hungry". The baby sucks out only the front low-fat milk, not getting to the back - fatty and nutritious. To eliminate this problem, mothers are advised to keep the baby near one breast for a long time and not to rush to change breasts at one feeding.

Frequency

With natural feeding, the baby will empty the intestines at each meal. This may continue for the first month. The frequency of stool in a child at 2 months old can be reduced up to 4 times, the baby can generally begin to poop in a day or two. This is due to the enzymatic crisis in the digestive system of the baby. During the same period, mother's milk is renewed. The baby gradually develops new enzymes that help digest the more complex composition of milk. This may continue for several weeks. The baby can be naughty during this period, actively suck the breast or refuse it, colic and gaziki appear. If a child poops every three days, without help and discomfort, then these are his individual characteristics. Stool retention in this case is not considered constipation.

Chair with artificial feeding

The feces of an artificial baby can change when switching to another mixture and in the process of maturation of the digestive system.

Peculiarities

The color of the baby's feces depends on the composition of the mixture and is yellow, pale yellow and even brown. Green loose stools in an artificial baby may be associated with the introduction of complementary foods or the transition to another mixture. The consistency of the feces of the newborn will be denser. This is due to the fact that mixtures, unlike breast milk, do not have a laxative effect, they are digested much longer. The smell of feces is also different: it is sharper, more pronounced.

Frequency

The stool of an artificial baby is irregular due to the density. Fecal masses can stay in the intestines for a long time and harden. This leads to constipation. If the baby does not poop for a day, this is already a signal of stool retention, which cannot be said about breastfeeding babies. In general, an artificial baby poops less often, sometimes twice. Do not allow frequent switching to another mixture. This can cause either stool retention or, conversely, loose stools. The baby's body needs time to adapt to the new composition of the mixture, so the transition should be smooth, within a week.

What should be the chair of a newborn and baby? Regular and independent. The feces should be of a soft consistency so that a bowel movement is painless. If a lot of mucus, foam, streaks of blood appeared in the baby's stool, you should consult a doctor.

The stool of babies is one of the problematic moments for many mothers. In the middle of the 20th century, when formula feeding became more common than breastfeeding, a new stereotype of "normal" bowel movements emerged. Formula-fed babies poop differently than babies: artificial stools are relatively infrequent, come out formed, and smell bad, reminiscent of adult stools. While the stool from breast milk in the first 6 weeks of life is usually liquid and frequent, and in the future, on the contrary, it can be of a normal consistency, but with delays. At the same time, often people who do not know that this is quite normal for babies begin to treat the baby either for diarrhea or constipation ...

It is normal for a baby under 6 weeks of age to have bowel movements several times a day, in small, yellow or mustard-colored masses, without an unpleasant odor. At the same time, the stool may well have a heterogeneous consistency, or curdled inclusions, or - after a while, if the mother does not remove the diaper or diaper for a long time - you can notice that the yellow stool turns green, this is a completely natural oxidation process. All these are signs that are characteristic of a healthy baby! If you see white pellets in your child's stool, don't be alarmed. Most likely it's just the immaturity of the intestines. Therefore, if the child is gaining weight well and nothing bothers him, then there is no reason for your concern either.

Signs that may make a mother wary:

too frequent watery stools - from 12 to 16 bowel movements per day, with a strong smell indicates that the child does have diarrhea (diarrhea). It is necessary to consult a doctor, and it is very desirable to continue breastfeeding, because mother's milk is the best way to make up for the deficiency of the substances necessary for the baby.

frequent stools (8-12 times a day), which are green and watery, often caused by sensitivity to products or treatment of a child or mother; often such a reaction is caused by cow's milk protein.

Green, watery, foamy stools are usually a sign of a so-called anterior-hindmilk imbalance, which doctors like to call "lactase deficiency." True lactase deficiency is relatively rare, and in the vast majority of cases, this condition of the baby can be corrected by allowing each breast to be emptied to the end before shifting to the next. In this case, the baby will receive a large portion of fatty "hind" milk, which contains little lactose (in contrast to the "front" portion rich in lactose) and therefore is easier to digest. Clarification, so as not to get confused in terms: lactose is the milk sugar found in breast milk, and lactase is the enzyme that is required to break down lactose. The reserves of lactase in the baby's body are relatively small, and if he receives a lot of "forward" milk, then lactase is not enough for its normal absorption, so the baby is tormented by gaziki, and the stool takes on a characteristic appearance. Another problem that often occurs after 5-6 weeks of a child's life is a relatively rare bowel movement, which is often mistakenly considered constipation and the baby is actively treated. At this age, the milk finally becomes mature and the laxative colostrum component leaves it, and therefore most children begin to poop less often. In itself, a rare stool is not a cause for concern, it's just that the child's body finds out how much it can accumulate in itself before pooping. If the process is not interfered with, the child may not poop even up to 7 days once or twice, after which the normal frequency will be restored. If you constantly intervene, forcing the intestines to empty when it is not yet ready, constipation will become habitual. BUT: Indeed, the child may not poop for up to a week, and the mother may not worry under the essential condition: the child TOO don't worry! If this obviously annoys the child, the mother, of course, should not hope that everything “forms on its own”.

Constipation in a breastfed baby

Constipation in a breastfed baby is a hard dry shaped stool, the so-called "goat balls", which are very painful for the baby.
The consistency of NORMAL feces, even with its relatively rare appearance, cannot be considered constipation. These are just the physiological features of this particular organism, like eye color, snub nose angle or nail shape. We will not treat the body for the fact that its eyes are blue, and not brown, like the majority?

Why does such a physiologically rare stool appear (“not constipation”) in infants?

For the urge to defecate, the little man needs to experience a chain of certain sensations. The most important of which is the pressure of feces on the intestines, it is the degree of pressure that forms the skill to relax the sphincters in response to tension, and not to reduce them. The young, not fully formed intestine is still learning to respond to any external changes, gently and not stressfully at this stage of its formation, breast milk helps it - the only native and adapted product. Like any student, the intestines undergo a series of tests or even self-tests. Therefore, the feces of the baby of the first half of the year are heterogeneous - sometimes thick, sometimes liquid, sometimes often, sometimes rarely. And our adult standards for such a young student are unacceptable, the adult intestine is very different from the intestine of the baby.

The main indicator with such a rare stool is the child’s well-being and the discharge of gases from him, the most dangerous sign for constipation is the absence of gases, then you can fear for intestinal patency, but if the baby “farts like a machine gun”, then the patency is excellent. If the consistency of feces after defecation is normal, without “balls”, then the child has no problem.
The intestines are simply in a state of testing the degree of pressure of the feces inside on the walls of the intestines for optimal defecation, after the completion of such a test, the body will choose a certain period for defecation. This deadline will be set until ... the next test, after which everything will change dramatically again.
That is, the main thing is to objectively assess the condition of the child, look at the discharge of gases, and not at the calendar.
And yet it is so strange and scary when the chair is not regular and young parents so want to take care of something. What can be done so that the body is “tested” faster, and parents would see the coveted poop and at the same time not harm the child and not resort to medicines.

1. Give extra fluids.

But the problem is not the consistency of the feces! The feces inside are soft, the extra liquid makes it generally liquid and ... delays the natural bowel movement. As a result, additional mechanical stimulation is required (with a cotton swab in oil, with a thermometer), but more often it turns out that due to additional fluid and an extended period, the “front” part of the feces has formed into a dense hard “cork”, and “above” a very liquid watery stool. Throwing out a "cork" is very painful and unpleasant for the baby.
That is, in the case of a rare physiological stool, supplementing with any liquid can worsen the situation.

It should be noted here that the juice is a very large irritant with a high acidity factor. The complete absence of fiber, but a deadly carbohydrate environment, due to sugars. The child's intestines simply cannot digest this yet, for the digestion of juice, additional enzymes are needed that the pancreas of a child does not produce in infancy. And it turns out that an irritating product lies in the intestines - sugar from juice. Up to a certain age, the mucosa of the baby is very perceptive and sensitive, molecules penetrate into the blood through its walls, and sugars begin to strongly irritate the mucosa, the body receives a signal to get rid of the aggressors as quickly as possible, the pancreas tries to form enzymes to break down juice carbohydrates. The intestine collects additional fluid to partially neutralize aggressive sugars and begins to contract, removing the irritant. Outwardly - quite quickly after the infusion of juice, the child may have a chair. But at the cost of a huge stress on the pancreas, mucous membranes and the body as a whole. At the same time, the necessary minerals and vitamins are washed out of the body, the child loses a lot of fluid. The carbohydrate component creates in the intestines an ideal environment for the reproduction of pathogenic and opportunistic flora (Candida, Staphylococcus aureus), therefore, after co-ovulation, thrush in the child's mouth is so frequent.
Juice is one of the most cruel methods of influencing the baby's body.

3. Make an enema.

The liquid will create additional pressure, the very one that the intestines were waiting for and before the physiological readiness of the body there will be a chair. The "self-test" of the body is brought down. Defecation was caused by a mechanical stimulator, bowel contraction, but the child himself needs to learn how to relax. I think everyone has heard stories from two or three year olds who have problems with their stools. Often (not always) these are babies who were either bottle-fed, or the period of “learning” in a safe stool from breast milk passed against the background of defecation stimulation.

So what to do? Nothing. Wait. If the child behaves as usual and farts well, then this is another “test”.
But if the child pushes, blushes, the gases do not go away, the stomach is hard, the child cries on palpation - this is a completely different matter. Help is definitely needed here.

If the child does not walk for a long time and it worries him

The first step is to massage the tummy. Massage clockwise, full palm. Or cycling exercises.
A warm bath - to whom only it does not help to relax. Mom and baby are immersed in warm 37 degrees water, breastfeed right in the water, then quickly get out, mom or dad will rub their arms, legs and tummy with baby oil, then you can put the baby to lie down on mom’s tummy relaxed, it’s worth remembering that it’s easier to poop lying down on the tummy or side than on the back, or the mother can feed in the planting position (so that the butt is sagging and the baby is almost vertical) and in 80% you can expect a “desired poop”.
It is very good to hold a child complaining about the tummy over the sink under the knees, lubricating the anus area with baby oil ... Posture as when planting.

Only when these methods did not help, you can use the first step of mechanical stimulation. Take a hygienic stick, generously smear the tip with petroleum jelly or baby oil and insert a little into the ass. Not more than a centimeter! It is to enter and twist a little. Put away. Put on a diaper and put mom on her stomach, tummy to tummy ... Or press your knees to your stomach in a pose on your back ...

And only if this did not help, then the next step is a glycerin candle.
But as a rule, everything works out at the first step.

I would like to single out the appointment of any treatment, parents should analyze what they are treating, the child's condition or analysis? Does your doctor prescribe bifidobacteria? Is there a correlation with the start of taking and the onset of stool retention? Have you been warned that bacteriological preparations containing bifidoculures affect the stool and can cause chronic constipation, which will already be constipation, and not physiological reactions? ... Always carefully monitor the child's stool at the time of using any medication.

Breastfeeding Mistakes

As practice shows, it is not bacteria that are more often to blame for problems with stools in infants, but improperly organized breastfeeding. Here are the most common mistakes in breastfeeding that prevent the development of normal intestinal microflora of the child:

Late attachment of the newborn to the breast.
Rare feeding "by the clock", limiting the duration of breast sucking by a child.
Dopaivanie baby water, teas.
Early introduction of formula supplementation or gradual transition to full artificial feeding.
Introduction of complementary foods before 6 months.

Misconceptions associated with problematic stools in infants

1. In the same place, everything rots inside if he does not walk for more than a day !!

We hear from many mothers. Let's dispel this myth!

Reminds me of high school chemistry. Oxidation, the reaction of interaction with oxygen. Now we take the child and examine the belly for holes. There is not? just a belly button? So you are not in danger of oxidation. If someone says "rots" - also send him to the school chemistry course, where it is said that decay is a slow combustion reaction in which oxygen access is an indispensable condition. To do this, at least you need a hole in the stomach. And it, as already found out from a higher experience - no.

2. This is dysbacteriosis!
Dysbacteriosis is becoming more popular, however, as well as drugs aimed at its treatment. In the minds of many parents, there was a wrong opinion that every baby has dysbacteriosis, and biologics have ceased to be the means that a doctor should prescribe - you can just buy them and give them to your baby: maybe it will help? Let's look at some facts about this condition and discuss them. After all, as you know, "he who is warned is armed."

The truth about dysbiosis:

Dysbacteriosis is not a diagnosis according to the Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), the generally accepted international diagnostic classification of the World Health Organization. This is a state of imbalance in the intestinal microflora that accompanies its various diseases (for example, acute intestinal infection). Also, dysbacteriosis develops after surgical operations on the gastrointestinal tract, treatment with antibiotics, cytostatics, and immunosuppressive agents. Therefore, if a child was born healthy, gains weight well, grows and develops according to age, it is not worth looking for dysbacteriosis in him.
In babies who have just been born, the period of colonization of the intestines by microbes is called transient dysbacteriosis and it refers to the borderline conditions of newborns. The main protection and medicine for the crumbs during this period is the mother's breast milk. Colostrum contains a huge amount of antibodies, anti-infective proteins and secretory immunoglobulin A, which provide the infant with primary immunological protection. In addition, the bifidus factor in human breast milk is involved in the formation of normal intestinal microflora, and lactoferrin binds iron and prevents the reproduction of those bacteria that need iron. That is why it is extremely important that from birth nothing but mother's milk gets into the mouth of the crumbs! A healthy baby is not afraid of dysbacteriosis.

An analysis for dysbacteriosis does not reflect the true state of the intestinal microflora. Let's remember that the microflora is a dynamic environment, the number of microbial units is in the millions, and these units themselves multiply rather quickly (and die). By the time the parents receive the result of the microflora analysis (and this is at least 7 days after its delivery), the microbial “picture” in the intestine will change radically. In addition, microorganisms colonize the intestine unevenly: there are more of them near the walls of the intestine, and not in its lumen, and when taking an analysis of feces, only “translucent” colonies fall into the “field of view”. That is why experienced and competent specialists do not trust this analysis and are in no hurry to treat children if it is changed, but there are no clinical symptoms.

If the baby has to be fed artificially, it must be borne in mind that the functioning of the intestines is changing. Accordingly, everything that is connected with such a prosaic and important process as pooping changes.

It would seem that everything should be simple with “artists” - a sterile bottle, the same mixture. And there shouldn't be any problems. But it is not so. The body of each person is unique, and the baby is especially. So how should a bottle-fed baby poop and how is the “artificial” chair different?

color

The color of the stool is darker. Although it may depend on the mixture itself, it can vary from yellow to dark brown.

What should alert?

If the color of the stool is unnaturally yellow or orange, there is a problem with the liver.

If it is green, it means various types of dysbacteriosis.

The only exception when you should not worry is the age of the child up to a week. Green stool at this age is natural, it is meconium.

If it is very dark, almost black, it means there is blood in the stool.

Moms take note!

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Consistency

Formula-fed babies have thicker stools. Sometimes white curd-like inclusions can be seen in it. This means that the proportions were not quite right, the mixture came out thicker than required, and was not completely digested. Or maybe he overate a little this time, although the portion size was the same as always.

It can be too thick, almost like in adults. This also indicates that the mixture was prepared incorrectly.

Ideally, the chair should look like a homogeneous mushy mass.

What should alert?

If the stool is too liquid, with foam, putrid smell.
Watery, mucus, streaked with blood.

Frequency

If the baby is bottle-fed, then the question of how much poop he should, and how often, at first rises to one of the first places.

A newborn baby in the first weeks can recover very often, literally after each feeding. Over time, this number is reduced, first to 3-4, then to 2 times a day.

What should alert?

If an "adult baby" a few weeks or months old suddenly has a chair 5-6 or more times a day -.
If there is no stool for several days at all -.

In any case, if it even seemed to you that the child was pooping somehow “wrong”, it is better to immediately show it to the doctor. Bring a soiled diaper with you. May your little one always be healthy!

Reading

Many mothers often ask the question how many times a newborn baby should have a chair. After all, how often the baby poops will help determine whether he has digestive problems or not. With age, a child's stool changes. Color, smell, frequency of emptying - all this is strictly individual for each baby. One child will be able to poop immediately after feeding, and the other - once every three days. The main thing to pay attention to is the well-being of the newborn and the composition of the feces.

Stool frequency in infants

After the passage of meconium (the primary feces are dark brown or, sometimes, black) on the third or fourth day, the act of defecation in the child begins to normalize, as evidenced by the green or yellow color of the stool. From birth to the first two months, the frequency of stools can exceed 4 tablespoons per day, sometimes the volume can be a little more. Many children can poop often - just after feeding 4-6 times a day, a little bit, for other parents, a one-month-old child defecates only once a day, and there are those who have not yet fully strengthened the sphincter muscles and constantly leaking liquid feces, in such cases, the baby's butt is dying and needs more careful care. But none of these options is a pathology and does not require a visit to a doctor. From the 2nd week, the baby's stool resembles pea porridge in color, a small amount of white grains and mucus is acceptable in the feces, and has a mild sour-milk smell.

If, during breastfeeding (HB), the baby suckles the breast for a very long time and does not eat up, and he has no stool for more than two days, then this may indicate problems with the mother's milk production.

From 2-3 months before the introduction of the first complementary foods, the frequency of stools can reach 6-8 times a day or once every two weeks. This frequency is optimal and parents do not need to worry. Indeed, at this age, the work of the gastrointestinal tract gradually moves to the level of maturation and reduces the frequency of defecation. This is not constipation, but a variant of the norm. The color of the stool should be light green or yellow. Infants tend to have loose stools, but in formula-fed babies (IV), it will be more solid and formed. At 4 months, the baby's stools will be pale yellow or light brown in color, the consistency and color may vary depending on the mother's diet or formula, which is fed to the baby.

With artificial feeding, the stool will be rarer and thicker due to the fact that the diluted dry mixes contain a lower percentage of water. This obliges a mother who feeds her child with mixtures to add boiled water to the diet in order to avoid dehydration of the baby's body.

After the introduction of complementary foods, the stool can change: once a day or every two days. But most often, during normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, the child is emptied 1-2 times a day. Closer to the year, the baby's stool will return to normal.

Norms

The color and consistency always depends on what the child eats: whether he is breastfed or artificial. When breastfeeding a baby, the natural color that indicates the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract are all shades of green and dark yellow. At the same time, the feces should be homogeneous and have a sour-milk smell. Heterogeneous lumps, red-pink streaks or mucus clots should not be visible in it - all this can indicate pathologies of the digestive system.

When formula-feeding, the color of the feces will be darker, and sometimes even dark brown. It will have an unpleasant odor and its volume will be one and a half times more than that of infants. This is due to a decrease in the number of bowel movements, but an increase in the volume of feces. Parents should not be scared if their baby is active and does not cry for no reason.

stool retention

Stool retention can indicate a violation of the digestive system. The main symptoms of constipation in a baby are:

a small amount of hard stool;
refusal of food;
crying, apathy, irritability;
tension and crying when trying to push.

This is probably due to the nursing mother not following a diet or feeding a formula that is not suitable for the baby. In such a situation, the mother needs to get rid of fixing foods: rice, bread, pomegranate, persimmon, coffee and smoked meats. And if the matter is in the mixture, then the mixture should be changed. In no case should we forget that artificial people must be given water, otherwise they will be able to be fixed. If the child is already receiving complementary foods, then apricot or pear juice can be given.

So many experiences are associated with how a newborn baby "walks big." Mom is worried about the frequency of the stool, its color, consistency. So how do you determine if the crumbs are all right with digestion? Perhaps he needs help?

Many mothers know that it is very important to monitor the baby's stool, and the pediatrician during the examination is always interested in how the baby walks in a big way. This information is one of the most important points in diagnosing the health of the crumbs.

Unfortunately, quite often mothers mistakenly interpret the completely natural and safe states of the baby. And because of these mistakes, they can start unnecessary treatment and worry about the baby for no good reason.

So let's figure out how a baby's chair should look like and when to worry and when not.

Immediately after childbirth

When the baby is in the mother's tummy, he receives all the necessary substances and trace elements through the umbilical cord. The digestive system of the crumbs does not work, but his stomach is not empty.

The baby sucks his fingers, opens his mouth and thus swallows a small amount of amniotic fluid. When the baby is born, this substance will be in his intestines and will gradually come out as the baby is attached to the chest and his digestive system begins to work.

So, the first stool of the crumbs is meconium: dark, plasticine-like feces. So the baby recovers the first day or two. Sometimes it gives him discomfort: the baby worries, cries, pushes, before he manages to go big. However, this is not always the case - many children recover easily, only slightly pushing.

If everything is in order with the baby, he was put to the breast in time and fed on demand, then gradually his stool changes. On the third or fifth day, the baby has the so-called "transitional stool", partly consisting of meconium, which is still in the gastrointestinal tract, partly from digested colostrum and milk. As a rule, streaks appear first in the meconium mass, then the feces gradually turn yellow. By the end of the first week, the baby's stool usually acquires the features of a normal infant: yellow, rather liquid.

When Should You Be Worried?

If the baby did not go down in a big way in the first two days, it is necessary to consult a doctor. There are children with individual characteristics who will continue to do this less often than most babies. However, the cause of the stool retention should be determined by the doctor. If the crumbs have some kind of problem with intestinal patency, help will be needed immediately, but you should not diagnose your baby without a doctor.

We're home

On the third or fifth day, the mother receives milk, and the baby has a fairly stable stool by the end of the first week. The literature sometimes says that the stool of newborns is "creamy", and this confuses mothers, who begin to suspect that something is not right with the crumbs.

In reality, the stool of a healthy baby is liquid and not always homogeneous. The normal color of feces is yellow and its shades. You may notice lumps, a little mucus - it's not scary. Do not be afraid if the baby's feces have a greenish tint for up to three months due to the immaturity of the liver enzyme systems and the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism, such a condition has the right to be and also does not require treatment.

Many mothers sometimes have anxiety due to the fact that the baby's stool "suddenly" becomes watery and the child walks in a big way with abundant gases, a sharp sound. Doctors in this case often suspect lactase deficiency.

In reality, things usually go like this.

In the period from 3 weeks to a month and a half, the baby has frequent growth spurts, so at certain moments the baby literally “hangs on the chest” to help the mother produce more milk. Within a day or a few, the baby needs to breastfeed more often and longer than before, and the mother begins to suspect that there is not enough milk. As a result, she often begins to shift the baby from one breast to another, and the baby receives mostly "forward" milk, which comes at the beginning of feeding from each breast. This milk is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, the baby is actively growing from it, however, the stool is liquid and gassy because of this milk (sometimes the “result” looks frothy if the baby is kept on a potty or a basin when he needs to clear himself, and the mother can observe the consistency chair).

In this situation, there is no need to panic - just the baby does not need to be constantly shifted from one breast to another, fearing that he is starving. Give the baby the opportunity to get "hind" milk, rich in fats, which will not cause flatulence and stay longer in the intestines.

In this situation (when the baby suddenly begins to clearly suck up more milk), the mother may feel insecure and start drinking lactogenic teas. From this, more carbohydrates again begin to flow into her milk and the baby's stool becomes more liquid and with gases.

Similar problems due to “forward” milk occur in the case of improper attachment to the breast, as a result of which the baby fills up the air and interrupts feeding itself, or simply cannot get “hind” milk. The best way out in this situation is to consult with a breastfeeding specialist to correct the attachment technique and stop panicking that the baby "does not have enough milk."

In a word, you should not worry if the baby has problems with a chair of this nature. Of course, the flora of his intestines is unstable, it is just beginning to establish - it takes at least three to four months. Your task is simply to feed the baby on demand and correctly and not to rush to treat him for imaginary diseases.

stool retention

Moms worry not only about the appearance of the chair, but also because of its frequency.

How often should the baby "do things"?

Normally, the baby walks in a big way several times a day, usually after feeding. However, in some children, the norm may be a chair and once a day, and even once every few days. Typically, these children have an anatomically weak anterior abdominal wall and intestinal motility. Such a periodicity of the stool can be considered the norm, if the baby still walks more regularly, the stool is of normal consistency and, in general, the baby is cheerful and cheerful and does not suffer from colic. It's not worth worrying.

However, if the baby is allergic, then you need to do everything possible so that he goes to the toilet at least once a day. Atopic dermatitis is much more severe if the baby does not empty the intestines often enough - consult a doctor about this.

Also, children have physiological delays in stool at the age of one and a half to five months. Here it is important to monitor the condition of the baby. If he experiences discomfort, you should consult a doctor.

Children can hold back their stools for psychological reasons, just as adults sometimes cannot go to the toilet if they are nervous. Do not panic because of a one-time problem, but if the problem persists or recurs, consult your doctor.

However, babies have not just "delays" of the stool, but also real constipation.

Constipation is called not only when the baby does not go to the toilet at all, but also feces "peas", overdried, when a bowel movement is difficult.

What could be the reason?

Regular constipation is usually due to improper feeding of the crumbs. However, this condition can also occur if the mother does everything right, but she has her own health problems, for example, with the thyroid gland. Medications can also be the cause of constipation.

For example, intestinal weakness is provoked by all kinds of sedative mixtures and drugs, which are often prescribed to children by neurologists at an early age. Even cough medicines or tooth gels can cause constipation. In any case, the doctor should deal with this.

You should not give your baby medicines and laxatives on your own, or act on it mechanically with an enema or gas tube. It is better to discuss with the doctor the issues of feeding, drug treatment and the baby's lifestyle - so you can understand the problem.

Feeding time

Of course, when you start to introduce complementary foods, the nature of the baby's stool changes. First of all, you need to remember that the task of the first complementary foods (at 5, 6 months) is not to feed, but to help adapt to new tastes, to new food. Give the baby complementary foods in the amount of "lick" and only gradually move on to doses "with a marigold" or "half a teaspoon".

Recall that you need to introduce one product into the diet of crumbs so that you can understand how and what the baby reacts to. Quite often, as soon as we give the baby “with a fingernail” some food, it is not digested - we find the product in the feces almost in its original form.

Within one or two days, this is normal, the baby's body has not figured out the new component in the stomach, but if this continues on the third day, the product must be removed from the diet, since it is obvious that the baby is not yet ready to accept it. You need to take a break for a week or two, without offering the baby anything but the breast, then try again with another product.

The body of the crumbs can react even more violently, for example, with liquefied stools and abdominal pain, and sometimes with allergies. In this case, you also need to cancel the product and keep the baby breastfed so that the gastrointestinal tract calms down.

When you introduce protein to your baby, he may react with constipation.

To avoid this, you need to remember simple rules:

Proteins require more liquid, so if this is your baby's first food (for example, cottage cheese), give him more breast milk.

If you started introducing proteins when the baby is already drinking liquid, provide him with a drink. Do not worry about the fact that the introduction of new products has to be postponed - nothing terrible will happen to the baby.

And be especially calm about the opinion that at 6-7 months the child needs to be given meat products so that he grows well. Not all children are able to absorb such a protein; for many, even a homogenized meat product at this age will lead to constipation and overload the kidneys.

Let the baby eat breast milk for a longer time and receive vegetables and fruits as complementary foods - this way you will avoid many problems with the stool.

In general, mothers' concern about the baby's stool is quite justified: after all, this is an important diagnostic symptom that allows you to understand a lot about the condition of the crumbs. However, it must be remembered that not all situations require intervention, and most problems can be solved simply by correcting feeding mistakes. Do not rush to treat the baby and resort to medication, start with a diet.