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Immediately after giving birth, young parents face a host of problems. It is necessary to teach the baby to breast, constantly change his diapers, do massages, bathe, monitor the temperature regime. Overlaid on this is the struggle against drowsiness and despair caused by a lack of understanding of the reasons for the crying of the child.

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

You should know how the stool of a baby is different, 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, and duration. The introduction of juices or mashed potatoes into the baby's diet also has a direct effect on the baby's bowel movements.

Stool color and odor: what it should be

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In a newborn, feces do not have any specific odor; they are black or greenish in color. At the same time, the stool is liquid and viscous. The baby often defecates, but you can only notice this 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 then start feeding. The original feces (it is also called meconium) consists of everything that the child swallowed along with the amniotic fluid during the months of being in the mother's womb. The appearance of meconium in a newborn indicates the normal functioning of the newborn's intestines.

In the period from 2 to 6 days from the date of birth in a child, the 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 as they adapt to a new way of getting food. From the second week, the feces become a yellowish-mustard hue, sometimes brown with a faint sour-milk smell. The consistency of the bulk is watery, there are small white grains. Such a chair indicates the normal functioning of the child's gastrointestinal tract. A slight presence of mucus or a green tint with a stable weight gain is considered normal.

A variant of the norm is the case when the child's feces are light brown or very dark brown. Small greenish blotches 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 harsh 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 rarely observed, then you should not worry. Depending on the food, the feces can turn orange or burgundy. This is typical after eating carrots or beets.

Bowel Emptying Frequency

At the age of up to 6 weeks with breastfeeding, the baby is emptied 4-12 times during the day. Stool frequency will decrease significantly with age. By the age of two months, a child can delight parents with an odorous stool both 4 times a day and 1-2 times in a five-day period. These are benchmarks, a slight deviation in one direction or the other, provided that the color, odor and consistency standards are met, is considered acceptable.

Young parents sometimes confuse normal loose stools with diarrhea. Even if the child empties once a day, but very abundantly (up to the leakage of feces from the diaper), do not sound the alarm. In some children, the intestines work so that bowel movements appear rarely, but in large volumes. This is not a pathological change. You should be concerned if emptying occurs more than 12 times a day. In this case, the feces will not just be liquid, but watery, they will flow out from above, and 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 effect on the child in order to accelerate emptying is excluded. In no case should an enema be given to the baby, as this can cause a weakening of the normal reflex activity of the corresponding muscles. It is not recommended to try to help the child by irritating the anus with a thermometer or a bar of soap (although grandmothers will insist on using these methods).

What feces indicate pathology?

Cases when the baby's bowel movements are of normal color, but they are too liquid or slightly frothy, and a strong fermented milk smell emanates from them, require increased attention from the parents, especially when breastfeeding. If, to the listed signs, the presence of irritation in the anal area is added, and the baby himself began to behave very restlessly, is capricious during and after eating, and is losing weight, then this indicates a lack of hind milk in the diet. It is more nutritious, less sweet, and contains the enzymes needed to break down milk sugars. All this is not in the front milk, so you just need to change breasts 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 needed. Most likely this is a consequence of a recent cold illness or a harbinger of teething. Medical advice should be sought if these symptoms persist for several days in a row.

Soft and very thick brown feces can be both a normal variant and a pathology. If recently the child has been taking iron-containing drugs, then there is no need to worry. A doctor should be consulted if there was no additional intake of iron. Then an examination is necessary to exclude 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 is losing it altogether. The reason may lie in allergies, poisoning or an infectious disease. Hard feces, coming out in small parts with constant strong tension of the abdomen, accompanied by the cry and cry of the baby, indicates constipation. This could be due to complementary foods, an ingredient that is not suitable for the baby, or the mother’s diet is inappropriate.

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

The appearance in the feces of blood, both liquid scarlet and black blood clots, should lead to an urgent visit to the hospital. Most often, this is provoked by an allergic reaction to a 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 of digested blood clots may indicate that the mother's nipples are damaged, and the baby is swallowing blood oozing from the cracks in the breast with milk. For a newborn, this option is safe, although it is better not to allow such a scenario.

In case of identified disorders of the intestines, you should seek medical help. This will help in time to diagnose pathological changes in the child's body, accelerate the subsequent normalization of the stool and restore the rate of weight gain. The fundamental recommendations of doctors often boil down to changes in breastfeeding techniques.

Among them:

• feeding should take place in a position comfortable for the mother and the newborn;
• it is important that the baby grasps the breast correctly and does not suck only the nipple;
• in some cases, it is necessary to increase milk production by more frequent attachments to the baby's breast, expressing after each feeding;
• special attention should be paid to ensure that the baby receives enough hind milk;
• you cannot artificially limit the duration of feeding sessions;
• in the first months of life, you should not try to feed the crumbs according to the regime, it is much better to do this 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 you shouldn't panic at the slightest non-compliance with the norm either.

Useful video

It has long been known that the "contents of diapers" indicate the state of health of the baby. Almost every mom, looking at her child's diaper, asks the question: "Is everything okay with my baby?" In this article, we will look at and tell you what kind of stool a baby should have, and what kind of stool will be a cause for concern.

Features of the chair of a newborn

Before giving birth, the baby has no bacteria in the intestines, that is, it is sterile. As soon as the baby is born, bacteria settle in the gastrointestinal tract, entering through the mouth due to touching the mother. Doctors advise immediately after giving birth to apply the newborn to the mother's breast so that the baby receives the necessary, beneficial bacteria.

In the first days of life, a newborn's stool is a black, tarry, odorless mass. This is the original feces, also called meconium, it is formed from what the baby swallowed inside the fetus.

On the third day after birth, the baby's feces are liquid and frequent, lumps and mucus may come across, in some cases, the stool may be watery. This is due to the fact that bacteria have entered the baby's body and caused an intestinal upset. Transitional feces in a newborn are more liquid than the original and may have a gray-green color.

In babies who are breastfed, odorless feces can even be said to be sweet and cheesy. After feeding with milk, it becomes lighter than usual.

On the 5th day, the feces of a newborn are similar to mustard, the shade can be green-yellow, brown-yellow, and sometimes lumps similar to granular cottage cheese can come across in the feces.

How many times does a newborn have stool?

During the month after birth, a newborn can go to the toilet three to twelve times a day, most often after being fed. When the baby is 2 months old, he will defecate less often, it is quite possible that once in a few days.

Loose stools (diarrhea) in a newborn

Since babies who are breastfed have liquid and frequent stools - this is the norm, the concept of "diarrhea" in infants differs from the usual idea. The feces of a newborn with diarrhea acquires a marsh color with dark green lumps, it smells like sour milk, and the consistency of the feces turns out to be watery, sometimes, you can find lumps of curdled milk in the composition.

In a bottle-fed newborn, the symptoms of diarrhea are almost similar to those of breastfed babies, only the frequency of bowel movements is different, which is unusual for them.

Causes of diarrhea in a child.

The appearance of diarrhea in a newborn can be accompanied by a number of reasons:

• Abrupt transition to another feeding, for example, changing the infant formula for another;
• Water change;
• If a mother who is breastfeeding has changed her diet, then this can also affect the baby.

There are many rumors that diarrhea can be accompanied by teething, but this is not the case. After all, babies' teeth are cut from six months to three years, and this does not mean that all this time children should suffer from diarrhea.

During intestinal disorders, the mother should carefully monitor her baby, check the temperature, monitor appetite, it is better to consult a doctor to avoid dehydration.

If diarrhea is accompanied by vomiting (not regurgitation, but vomiting), and you find blood in the baby's feces, consult a doctor immediately!

Let's summarize: this table shows almost all the symptoms of a newborn's stool that need to be paid attention to, and which do not give rise to panic.

Things are good!
The newborn is 1-3 days old. The feces are black, the consistency is like a paste, odorless.	This is meconium, it is formed from substances that the baby ate in the womb. This means that your baby's intestines are working well and are getting enough food.
The color of the baby's feces is gray, sometimes gray-green, it can be semi-liquid, oily. The baby is about 3 to 6 days old.	This is a transitional feces. A stool of this consistency means that the baby's body absorbs mother's milk well.
The child's stool resembles mustard in color and consistency, there may be mucus and a little greenery. In the composition there are small blotches, similar to cottage cheese grains. It smells like sour milk.	This means that the baby's body absorbs breast milk well and gains weight quickly.
The feces of the newborn are green, mushy. The baby feels good, takes the breast with appetite.	It is quite a normal reaction of the baby to the foods that the mother uses in her diet.
The baby's stool is light brown or dark brown, thick, with occasional blotches of greenery. Has a pungent, unpleasant odor.	This is the normal stool of a bottle-fed baby or a baby who has begun to receive complementary foods.
In a baby who receives complementary foods, feces acquire colored shades. The child is doing well and is gaining weight well.	Complementary foods can contain fruits that can turn orange and even red.
Pay attention!
The baby is gaining weight well, but he is nervous when breastfeeding, his stool is yellow with green blotches, possibly with foam, a liquid consistency, and has a pungent, fermented milk smell. There may be irritation around the anus.	These symptoms are typical for mothers who have a lot of milk. You just need to feed your baby less, and change breasts as rarely as possible, the baby will receive less sweet milk and will receive milk rich in enzymes that break down milk sugar.
The kid is taking iron preparations. The feces are dark brown, soft and thick.	It is normal for stools to change when you start taking the medication. Otherwise, we advise you to consult a doctor.
The baby's feces become yellow, green or brown, and there is a lot of mucus in the composition. The child has had ARVI.	These symptoms indicate that the baby has an intestinal disorder after an infection. If the stool contains mucus for several days, see your doctor.
Urgently see a doctor!
The kid is not gaining weight. His stools are frequent, runny, yellow, green or brown, possibly watery, and have an unpleasant odor.	Your toddler may have a bowel disorder due to infection, allergies, or poisoning.
The baby has hard feces. During bowel movements, the baby screams and cries.	The child has constipation, which may be related to the mother's inappropriate diet.
The baby's feces are green, foamy, and have a sharply sour smell. May be accompanied by irritation around the anus.	Consult your doctor immediately! This means that the baby may develop lactose deficiency.
The baby's stool is bloody.	See a doctor immediately! This means that the baby may have intestinal bleeding, infection, allergy to cow protein, hemorrhoids.

The birth of a child is not only a great joy for parents, but also a time of worries and worries. How does the baby grow and develop, does it have enough food, is it digested correctly? Many of these questions will be answered by the contents of your baby's diaper. It is the chair, or rather, its quantity, color and consistency, will tell the mother whether the baby has enough nutrients. What you need to know about stool for a baby under 6 months old? Let's try to figure it out.

Baby chair per month

The first month is the most disturbing. The baby's stool at 1 month old often changes, and the mother still cannot understand if this is normal, or if she needs to panic and rush to the doctor. The very first days after birth, the stool in a newborn has a very dark color - dark green, almost black. This is the so-called original feces or meconium. Its consistency is thicker - it resembles a window putty. Gradually, as the mother's milk arrives, the stool changes. This usually happens on the second or third day after giving birth.

The child's stool does not change immediately per month - at first it goes through the so-called intermediate stage, which lasts several days. At this time, the color of the stool becomes greenish and liquid, which also scares the parents. However, it is normal for the second stage if it does not last longer than 4-6 days.

Finally, gradually, the baby's stool at 1 month old acquires the shade that is considered normal. This is a yellow color - or rather, all kinds of its variants: mustard, brownish, orange. The consistency of the stool is rather liquid, mushy, in it may be interspersed with white lumps or mucus. This is not to be feared: such inclusions only indicate that the baby eats well, and the excess part of the food comes out undigested. The smell of the stool resembles fermented milk, it is not too bright and tart.

How often should a baby have stools per month? A newborn baby poops a lot - and parents need to be prepared for this. Stock up on diapers: stool frequency in the first month can be up to 10-12 times. Gradually, as lactation improves, stool frequency will decrease. But the most surprising thing is that while breastfeeding, the baby may not walk in a big way for up to a week. And this is also the norm - just the mother's milk is completely absorbed. On artificial feeding, this, as a rule, does not happen.

How to determine what happens if a child has a rare stool per month? Is this normal or indicative of constipation? You should focus on the condition of the baby. If his tummy is soft, he does not twist his legs, does not cry, eats with appetite and sleeps peacefully, then everything is in order. If the crumbs have colic and constipation, you will certainly notice this - the baby will be capricious. You will need to help him to empty the intestines by giving an enema.

Why can the baby's stool change per month? Changes are most often related to color and consistency. You may encounter the following problems:

• Chair green;
• Watery and frothy stools;
• Black stools;
• White stools;
• Other changes in stool color - for example, a reddish tinge to the stool.

First of all, a mother needs to remember that the color of a child's stool per month (however, as at an older age) directly depends on her nutrition. Therefore, you do not need to be scared if the baby's stool turns red. Remember what you ate the day before - beets, tomatoes, red berries may well affect the shade of the stool in the crumbs. The same applies to some vitamin complexes.

The black color of the stool invariably scares parents, but in reality it is rarely a problem. A similar shade can be given by foods containing a large amount of iron, as well as drugs prescribed for mom. White stools in a child per month cannot be called the norm, since it may indicate abnormalities in the functioning of the liver or pancreas. Be sure to consult your pediatrician.

Finally, green stools in most cases appear due to improper feeding, when the baby eats "front" milk, which contains carbohydrates, but does not contain fat, like "back" milk. You should change the feeding regimen and try to get the baby to empty the breast completely.

Stool 2 months old and older

The first month is the most difficult, but later the baby's stool is more or less formed. The stool of a 2 month old child, as we have already said, should normally have a yellow tint and a mushy consistency. Mom may face such a problem as dark stool, which doctors call "hungry". This happens when the baby does not have enough milk. If, along with a change in the color of the stool, the baby pees less often, and the urine acquires a rich shade and a pungent smell, you need to urgently consult a doctor - you may need to feed the baby. Regular weighing will help prevent this problem - you will always know if your child is gaining weight normally.

The stool of a 4-month-old child continues to resemble a yellowish gruel in color and consistency. Sometimes at this age you have to feed the baby if the mother does not have enough milk. In addition, many parents already give water, juice or compote at this age. Pediatricians believe that this is not necessary if the mother has enough milk. One way or another, if the stool in a 4 month old baby changes, most likely in connection with complementary foods.

The stool of a baby at 5 months can also change, since at this age most parents still give the baby the first complementary foods in the form of puree. There is no need to be scared if undigested residues of complementary foods are visible in the stool of a child at 5 months - any new food is not absorbed immediately. It is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the child's skin: if the baby reacted to the new food with an upset stomach, the delicate skin around his anus may become inflamed.

Finally, a child's stool at 6 months of age can be harder when protein supplements are introduced, and sometimes even constipation occurs. Parents have a fascinating job of drawing up the right menu for the crumbs. There is no need to introduce several types of complementary foods at the same time - then it will be difficult to determine what exactly the baby has reacted to.

Text: Olga Pankratieva

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Along with all the pleasant troubles during the care and care of a newborn baby, mothers still have to deal with diapers and their contents. And if before childbirth a woman had no idea how important a certain consistency and color could be, then after the birth of a child she understands this perfectly, and moreover, she determines the state of health of her baby precisely by his condition.

The stool of the newborn is normal

The stool of a newborn at 1 month can rightfully be called an indicator of health. By its consistency, color and smell, you can determine the most common diseases in babies of this age - dysbiosis, intestinal infections. So, what should be the stool of a newborn at 1 month old?

In the first days after birth, it has a black-green color and a tarry consistency - this is meconium or original feces. With the proper establishment of feeding, such a stool begins to change at 2-3 days of the baby's life and acquires a gray-green tint and a liquid consistency. This condition can last up to 4-6 days, after which the newborn's stool becomes normal.

In consistency, it is creamy and homogeneous, but in color it is yellowish-brownish-orange, a fairly light shade, and more often mustard. Sometimes white grains and small amounts of mucus may be present in the stool. The smell can be safely called fermented milk, but in reality it is quite tolerable. A newborn poops 4 to 12 times a day, depending on the frequency of feeding. With all these indicators, the baby should regularly gain weight and feel good.

Possible changes in the child's stool

If it has a yellow, brown or green color, it is frothy, has a pungent smell and at the same time the baby whimpers during and after feeding, but gains weight well, then it is likely that the mother has an excess of milk and the baby receives only the front milk saturated with carbohydrates. and the back - rich in fats - remains intact. In this case, you need to change the feeding regime.

If a green color appears in the child's stool, we can safely talk about intestinal disorders. Lumps in the stool, foam, and excess fluid are all indicative of this. An upset bowel may be the result of inappropriate formula nutrition or if the mother, while breastfeeding, allowed herself something extra in terms of nutrition. It can also be a sign of "malnutrition". In this case, the child does not gain weight well and behaves anxiously.

When a child poops with green, watery feces with a lot of foam, which comes out with a characteristic sound, then one can suspect the presence of lactose deficiency of the primary or secondary type.

The opposite situation is also possible, when the child's stool becomes hard, the intestines are emptied with difficulty, with a tense stomach and is accompanied by crying. This means that the child has constipation, this is conceived in children who are bottle-fed, if the milk formula is not suitable for the baby. However, if the baby eats breast milk, then this condition may be caused by the introduction of a new unsuitable product in the mother's diet.

What if the chair is "wrong?"

Often all digestive problems in newborns are associated with the fact that a small body cannot adapt to the food that is offered to it. To do this, you need to try to find the most suitable formula for your baby. And if the child is breastfed, then try to choose the optimal diet for the mother, which will not cause discomfort in the baby's digestive system.

However, it can be of a more serious nature. It can be poisoning, a bacterial or viral disease of the gastrointestinal tract, or a lack of essential enzymes. If at the same time the child does not suffer much, then you can try to give him a decoction of chamomile. As a rule, after a couple of hours, an improvement in the work of the digestive tract will be noticeable, if not, you need to consult a specialist, because it is simply unacceptable to treat dysbiosis or intestinal infections on your own. The doctor will examine the baby, carry out all the necessary manipulations and, possibly, recommend passing feces, urine and blood tests to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe rational therapy.

What not to do

First, do not panic and immediately try to treat the baby. Only the attending pediatrician can prescribe treatment after a face-to-face examination, the appointment of certain tests and finding out the reason for this condition of the child. Any drugs can have a negative effect on a fragile body, so all drugs should be prescribed only by a pediatrician. Self-medication can only worsen the condition!

You don't need to invent and prescribe all kinds of tests for your child. This is the business of specialists. And it will save parents from unnecessary spending and empty worries.

It is also worth giving up the idea that breast milk can harm the baby. Breast milk is the most valuable food for a baby, but it makes sense to revise your diet and exclude certain foods. Mother's milk will help the baby to cope with all health problems, because it contains all the necessary protective factors, nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. Therefore, giving up breastfeeding is not an option for digestive problems.

Each mother is obliged to know what the child's stool should be in normal and pathological conditions and to seek medical help and specialist advice in time. Any attempts at self-medication can lead to undesirable consequences, therefore, such experiments should be avoided, because the child's body is still unformed and very delicate.

Most parents carefully monitor the contents of their baby's diapers, because a newborn's stool is one of the main indicators of his health. The frequency, consistency and color of stools are more dependent on the child's nutrition and the functioning of his digestive system, and also help determine the presence of abnormalities.

Stool of a newborn with breast and bottle feeding

The first days after birth, the baby's intestines are emptied of meconium (original feces). It is an odorless, tarry, black-green mass that is an indicator of normal bowel function.

Further, when breastfeeding, the newborn's stool becomes yellow-mustard in color, has a mild sour smell and the consistency of sour cream, sometimes with white lumps. Up to one and a half months, stool is frequent, up to 4-12 times a day. As the baby grows up, it becomes thicker, more uniform and regular (from four times a day to once every three days). In order to avoid problems when feeding a baby with breast milk, a mother must follow several basic rules indicated in the "nursing mother's memo".

A newborn who eats artificial mixtures has a dark yellow or brown color, a thicker consistency, and a characteristic fecal odor. Emptying occurs once or twice a day.

After the introduction of complementary foods, the nature of the feces changes. It may contain undigested food particles. The less the baby drinks milk, the less yellow the tint will be, and reddish or orange stools in a newborn can be observed when he eats foods with characteristic coloring properties (for example, beets, carrots, apricots, strawberries). As they grow older, the child's stool looks closer to that of an adult.

Possible deviations from the norm

In newborns, stool problems can occur for a number of reasons. The sooner parents notice that the baby's feces have changed not for the better, and consult a doctor, the sooner it will be possible to fix everything and avoid negative consequences.

Too loose stools in a newborn can be observed in the following cases:

• violation of the diet by a nursing mother
• intolerance to some components of the artificial mixture
• development of intestinal infection

Watery stools in a newborn may also be due to lactase deficiency. In any case, it is necessary to conduct an examination as soon as possible in order to identify and eliminate the cause of the disease, since diarrhea in the crumbs can lead to dehydration, and the further use of unsuitable products can lead to allergic diseases.

Another indicator of intestinal disturbance in a newborn is green stools with a pungent unpleasant odor. He may indicate several problems, for example, if he is also losing weight and not having enough milk from his mother. It can also be allergic or poisoning. If mucus is observed in the feces, this may be the result of too painful teething or a severely passing ARVI disease.

If, in addition to a greenish tint, the newborn's stool is frothy, you should pay attention to the balance of the front and back breast milk that the baby receives. Foam in the stool may indicate first or second degree lactase deficiency. With staphylococcus, the newborn's stool will also be green and frothy, accompanied by intestinal colic.

An alarming symptom is traces of bright or dark blood in the child's feces. Bacterial infections, hemorrhoids, intestinal bleeding, allergy to cow protein can cause streaks of blood in the stool of a newborn. This is the reason for immediate medical attention.

Constipation in a baby

If the newborn has hard stools, consisting of small portions, during bowel movements, the tummy is tense and the baby is crying, it is constipation. Among infants, this phenomenon is quite common.

The absence of stool in a newborn who feeds on breast milk for 5-7 days can be caused by a lack of food, lactase deficiency, and lack of intestinal muscle tone. When fed with adapted formulas, the normal frequency of bowel movements in newborns is once or twice a day. If this happens much less often, it means that the food is not suitable for him or the intestinal muscles are too weak. After the introduction of complementary foods, constipation can be caused by the introduction of a new product, therefore, you should first study the issue of feeding the baby with vegetables, fruits, cereals and meat.

The causes of constipation in infants can be improperly selected medicines in the treatment of any diseases. It can also occur with an improperly organized transition from breast milk to artificial feeding. High temperatures can also affect this.

Disruption of the baby's digestive system is an important diagnostic symptom, the timely identification and elimination of the causes of which helps to avoid many problems with the child's health in the future. The main thing is not to self-medicate for any manifestations, but to seek advice from a good doctor.