The Scoop on Poop
Your baby’s health can be observed in their poop. In the first days of life, a newborn’s bowel movements consist of a thick black or green substance called meconium, which fills your baby’s intestines before birth. Once meconium clears, stool changes to yellow-green, usually appearing mustard-like with seedy particles.
Normal pooping patterns vary from one poop every several days to several poops per day. Breastfed babies usually stool more often than formula-fed babies. Younger babies tend to poop in succession so perhaps wait until your baby is done before a diaper change. Infrequent stooling may not mean constipation if stools are soft and your baby is gaining weight and feeding well.
Poop colours vary but pay attention to certain ones. White poop is unusual and may indicate a liver problem so contact your baby’s doctor right away. Red poop may indicate blood if your baby is not eating or drinking anything red. Blood can be seen in newborns who swallowed blood during delivery or are sensitive to cow’s milk protein. Irritation of the anus may cause streaks of blood to appear outside stools. Visit your baby’s doctor to make sure it’s not a problem. Black poop after your baby’s first few days of life may suggest old blood and merits a visit to the doctor.
If baby poop is watery or exceeds feeding frequency, check for dehydration or an intestinal infection if your baby seems sick. If poop is dry or hard, your breastfed or bottle-fed baby may not have enough fluids.
Once your baby starts to eat solids, harder poops may mean your baby is eating too many constipating foods. Try offering more vegetables and fruits, like prunes. If your baby is still constipated, ask your doctor for advice. A bit of fruit juice like apple or pear juice might help draw fluid into the poop to make it softer. As a rough guideline, an ounce per day for every month of life up to four months can be given.
You baby’s poop will have different patterns, forms and colours. If you don’t know what it means, ask your doctor!
Becky Biqi Chen was a resident in general pediatrics for three years at the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre. She is currently specializing in pediatric gastroenterology during her fellowship at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital.
