Table of contents:
- Identify baby feces according to the nutritional intake consumed
- Newborn stool
- Feces of babies who consume breast milk
- Feces of babies who consume formula milk
- The color and condition of the baby's stool range from healthy to unhealthy
- Green baby stool
- Stool color orange, yellow, brown
- Black baby stool
- Hard stool texture like gravel
- Solid red stool
- White stool
- The important thing that parents need to pay attention to about baby feces
- 1. Variation in the color and consistency of baby stool
- 2. Signs of diarrhea in infants
- 3. Dehydration in babies
Did you know that the baby's health condition can be seen from the condition of the feces? Normal or not baby stool can be seen from the texture and color. The following is a complete explanation of baby stool in terms of color and texture, especially for you new parents.
Identify baby feces according to the nutritional intake consumed
Baby feces is one of the determinants of children's health conditions, especially those related to digestion.
Therefore, newborn health screening includes stool texture and color.
Usually the texture and color of the stool is influenced by the nutritional intake your little one consumes. The following is an explanation about baby poop that parents need to know.
Newborn stool
Quoting from Blank Children's Hospital, newborns have greenish, blackish, sticky texture, and odorless stools.
This stool texture is called meconium which consists of amniotic fluid, mucus, and skin cells that are swallowed when the baby is in the womb.
Meconium only lasts for the next day or two.
After two to four days, the baby's poop will begin to change. It is green in color and less sticky.
This is also a sign that your little one's intestines are fine.
You can panic if the stool is still meconium after 48 hours or if your baby doesn't pass this type of stool within 48 hours of birth.
Feces of babies who consume breast milk
After four days, the color of the baby's poop will change. For babies who consume breast milk, the color of the baby's poop usually changes from golden yellow to greenish brown.
Babies who drink breast milk usually have a lighter stool color and a slightly watery texture like diarrhea.
Usually, if a baby who consumes breast milk is healthy, the stool will not smell bad.
Feces of babies who consume formula milk
For babies who are fed formula milk, a healthy color of poop is yellow or brown with a buttery texture.
However, the size of the stool of babies who drink formula milk usually smells more badly than babies who drink breast milk.
A sign that your baby is unwell is when the stool is black 4 days after birth.
This condition is usually accompanied by several other signs such as:
- The baby's bowel is red or bloody
- The baby's bowel is white or gray in color
- The baby's bowel movements are watery or large, hard, and difficult to get out.
If you are concerned about the color or texture of your little one's stool, call your doctor right away for a consultation.
The color and condition of the baby's stool range from healthy to unhealthy
As mentioned earlier, the baby's health condition is seen from the color of the stool that is removed every day.
If parents pay attention to the color of the baby's poop, the frequency of bowel movements, to the texture, you can tell whether your little one is in good health or not.
This is especially so in terms of digestive problems. The following is an explanation of the color of the baby's stool from healthy to not:
Green baby stool
Babies who are often given iron supplements will have green stools.
This condition will continue when the baby is 4-6 months old and starts to be given green solids, such as vegetables, into their diet.
Stool color orange, yellow, brown
This is a normal baby poop condition in babies who are breastfed or who drink formula milk. The texture is often liquid or sometimes solid.
After feeding, gas sometimes collects in the baby's stomach and makes him bloated. It is important that you know the proper way to burp your baby.
Black baby stool
If you see your baby's droppings are all black or just spots, this is a sign that the baby is digesting blood while breastfeeding directly through the mother's nipple.
This condition can also mean bleeding in the baby's digestive system.
Although this is not always dangerous, it is necessary to see a doctor if the baby's black stool continues.
Hard stool texture like gravel
If your baby passes stool with a hard texture like pebbles, then he is probably constipated or constipated.
Usually babies experience this when introduced to solid foods at the age of 6 months or enter the solid food phase.
This kind of poop texture can also be a sign that the baby has a sensitivity to the milk that is consumed or the content of certain foods.
Solid red stool
Red stool can be caused by food consumed, for example dragon fruit or tomatoes.
However, if your little one does not eat foods that are red and the color of the stool is blood red, it could be a sign that the baby has a milk protein allergy.
If your baby has diarrhea at the same time as red pupils, the baby may have a bacterial infection.
White stool
If your little one has white stools, this is a sign that he is not digesting food properly.
A white color indicates that the bile is not digesting food properly.
The color of baby's pup varies according to age, so it should be noted if the change is towards an unhealthy direction.
The important thing that parents need to pay attention to about baby feces
As previously explained, the condition of baby and child poop is very important to pay attention to because it can be used as an indicator of their health.
Apart from the normal condition and frequency of bowel movements, there are several other things that parents need to remember, namely:
1. Variation in the color and consistency of baby stool
The frequency of bowel movements for babies cannot be used as the only benchmark to see what their health condition is.
There are several other factors that can determine whether your baby is healthy or not, such as stool consistency and color.
In fact, the varying color and consistency of baby poop is quite normal.
For example, babies can slow digestion if they eat foods that are solid and turn green.
If the baby is given extra iron, the stool can turn dark brown in color.
Meanwhile, when there is mild irritation of the anus, it is likely that there will be blood spots on the outside of the stool.
When you find blood, mucus, or water in the baby's stool, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Generally, these symptoms indicate that the baby's digestive system is disturbed.
2. Signs of diarrhea in infants
Normally, a newborn baby's bowel movements are softer and a little watery, so parents may find it difficult to distinguish which characteristics of babies have diarrhea and which are not.
If your baby has diarrhea, there will usually be an increase in the frequency of bowel movements. For example, more than one bowel movement after eating and the stool looks slimy.
Diarrhea in babies may be a sign of an intestinal infection or caused by a change in their diet. If the baby is breastfeeding, it turns out that they can experience diarrhea due to the consumption of food intake from the mother.
3. Dehydration in babies
Not only diarrhea, baby bowel movements can also be a factor to see if they are dehydrated or not. The main problem of diarrhea that is quite worrying is dehydration or lack of fluids.
If the baby has a high fever and is less than two months old, contact the doctor immediately.
However, when the baby is over two months old and the fever lasts for more than a day, try to check the urine and stool temperature.
Then, report the findings to the doctor so they know what needs to be done.
x