Baby solid poop 6 months

What Does Your Baby’s Poop Mean? Chart and Guide| Banner

Everyone poops, but your baby’s poop is particularly fascinating—especially in the first few months of life. You haven’t changed enough diapers, if you haven’t gasped or said, “Woah!” at least once while opening up your baby’s diaper. The range of colors, consistency, size and smells, it’s no wonder it becomes a common topic of discussion between parents and with a child’s primary care provider.

There’s good reason to care a lot about your baby’s poop though. That’s because your baby’s poop can tell you a lot about their health and development.

“It’s important to keep track of the number of poops and color during the first few days and weeks of life as that helps your pediatrician understand how your baby is eating and growing,” said Helene Felman, MD, a pediatrician with Diamond Children’s Multispecialty Services Clinic in Tucson, AZ. “If a baby is pooping regularly, we know they are eating regularly, and growing normally. ”

While every diaper change may uncover a new surprise, you may wonder what is normal and what’s not in the baby poop department. Dr. Feldman helped breakdown what to expect.

The evolution of baby poop: How poops change as baby grows

Newborn poop

The first type of poop your baby will have is called meconium. It’ll look dark, sticky and tarry and will be hard to clean off. After 24 to 48 hours, it will transition to yellow and seedy. Think fancy mustard, like Grey Poupon—no pun intended!

Breastfed poop

Breastfed babies have the most variety in frequency of poops but the color and consistency are typically soft, smooth and mustard-like. It’s more of a puree consistency than a child or adult-type poop. Breastfed babies typically poop after each feeding, but the frequency can go down as they get older. As long as the poop is soft, and not hard balls, it’s not constipation.

Formula-fed poop

Formula-fed babies tend to have slightly more solid poops, still soft, and occur about one to three times daily. The color also tends to be darker yellow, brown or green.

After introducing solids

Once babies start eating solid foods, around age 6 months, regardless if they’re breastfed or formula-fed, their stools will become more solid and formed. As long as they aren’t producing hard balls, this is normal and not constipation.

Why color matters when it comes to your baby’s poop

While colors like green, dark brown or yellow poops are peculiar, there are really only three colors Dr. Feldman said you should worry about: black, white and red.

“Green, orange, yellow, brown and everything in between are typical for babies,” Dr. Felman said. “Brown and orange are more typical for formula-fed babies, but can occur in breastfed babies as well. The colors of stool for a breastfed baby can also change based on their mother’s diet. But if you see red, black or white stools, call your baby’s doctor right away.”

• Black poops: It could indicate older blood in stool.
• White poops: It could be a sign your baby’s liver isn’t working as it should.
• Red poops: Many times, it could indicate bleeding. It may appear stringy or mucous-like and could be a result of a milk allergy or anal fissures.

“If you see any of these three colors, snap a few photos to show the doctor and hold onto the diaper in case the doctor wants to test the stool,” Dr. Felman said.

For a quick cheat sheet, check out our Baby Poop Guide below:

Is my baby constipated?

Many parents worry about their baby straining and turning red in color when they are passing poop, but as long as the stools are soft and normal in color, don’t worry. According to Dr. Felman, “This happens so often, there is even a medical term for it: infant dyschezia.”

“I ask parents, ‘Have you ever tried pooping while lying down?’ It’s hard to move stool from that position,” Dr. Felman said. “You can help your infant pass their poops by massaging their stomachs and bicycling their legs to help put pressure on their abdomen and push the poop out more easily that way. ”

Though not an emergency, if your baby hasn’t pooped in four days, talk to the nurse or doctor to see if there are things you can try to help your baby pass the poop.

The takeaway

Your baby’s poop will be a topic of conversation their first few years of life, but it’s for good reason. Their poop will fluctuate quite a bit as they grow and start eating solids. While most colors and textures are normal, if you’re ever concerned about your baby’s bowel movements, don’t hesitate to call your doctor for advice.

For other parenting tips, check out:

• Four Common Causes for Your Child’s Tummy Ache
• Birth to Five Years: Knowing Your Child’s Developmental Milestones
• Rashes on Children: When Should I Worry?
• Do I Need To Worry If My Baby Has a Flat Head?

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Photo credit: © Luke Mattson / Stocksy United

Baby poop comes in a variety of colors, and those colors can change depending on your baby's diet. Your newborn's very first poop, called meconium, is greenish-black and tarry. Breastfed poop is yellowish, soft, and seedy; while formula-fed poop is thicker and brownish in color. Solid food poop has more substance and a stronger odor. Babies can be constipated and have diarrhea, just like adults, which will make their poop look different than usual. These photos give you the full scoop on newborn poop. (A note for the squeamish: This gallery contains real photos.) 

What should baby poop look like?

Baby poop comes in a wide range of colors and a variety of textures, and deciphering what's normal and what's not can be puzzling to a new parent. If you're spending more time than you'd ever imagined staring quizzically at the contents of your baby's diaper, you're not alone! Bowel movements are one of the most common concerns parents ask their child's doctor about.

This baby poop chart will give you the full scoop on your newborn's bowel movements. The following photos and information will help you understand which baby poop colors are normal and which ones warrant a call to the doctor as your newborn grows, drinks breast milk or formula, and starts eating solids. You'll find out what's harmless, and when there may be a cause for concern.

If you still have questions about your baby's bowel movements after reading this guide, don't hesitate to call or email photos of any questionable baby stools to your child's provider.  (And for more helpful tips on when to call your baby's pediatrician, as well as other great safety info, check out our <a href="https://www.babycenter.com/courses/sso?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fcourses.babycenter.com%2Fcourses%2Finfant-cpr-first-aid-video-course" rel="sponsored" target="_blank">All-in-One Baby Safety Course with CPR</a>.)</p> <div data-promo-variant="cpr3" data-transform="coursePromo"><img alt="" /></div> <p>Note:&nbsp;These are pictures of real baby poop! Please view only if you're comfortable looking at them. If not, you can read this&nbsp;<a href="/baby/diapering/baby-poop-guide_10319333">description without photos</a>&nbsp;instead, or&nbsp;<a href="/baby/diapering/baby-poop-guide-11-types-of-baby-poop_20000587">watch this animated video</a>.</p>

Newborn poop (meconium)

You may be surprised to learn that normal newborn poop doesn't look very normal at all. For your baby's first couple of bowel movements, expect to find a greenish-black, tarry, sticky sludge that kind of looks like motor oil when you open your newborn's diaper. Since meconium is made of mucus, amniotic fluid, dead cells, and other stuff your baby ingested in utero, it doesn't really smell – so you may not realize it's time for a diaper change.

When your baby is 2 to 4 days old, their poop will become lighter in color – sort of a yellowish green – and less sticky. This so-called transitional stool is a sign that they've started digesting early breast milk or formula and their intestinal tract is working just fine.

Photo credit: marima / Shutterstock.com

Breastfed baby poop

Normal breastfed baby poop, like as seen in this photo, is yellow or slightly green, and has a mushy or creamy consistency. It may be runny enough to resemble diarrhea, though baby diarrhea is usually very liquid in consistency. Breastfed poop typically looks like Dijon mustard and may be dotted with little seed-like flecks. Interestingly, it smells slightly sweet.

There are many shades of normal when it comes to breastfed baby poop. One you might see is a greener tone, which could signify that you ate something different than you normally do. If your baby isn't experiencing any other symptoms, there's no need to worry.

If you see bright green and frothy poop in your baby's diaper that almost looks like algae, they're probably getting too much foremilk – the low-calorie milk that comes first in a feeding – and not enough hindmilk, the higher-fat, super-nutritious stuff that comes near the end. It could mean that you're not feeding your baby long enough on each breast. To remedy this, start each new breastfeeding session on the breast you ended on the last time.

Formula-fed baby poop

Formula-fed babies have thick, pasty, peanut butter-like poop on the brown color spectrum. Its color ranges from tan-brown to yellow-brown or even greenish-brown.

The thicker consistency of formula is slightly harder to digest than breast milk, so some of its ingredients end up passing right through your baby's digestive system. Formula-fed baby poop is also more pungent than poop from breastfed babies, yet a little less pungent than poop from babies who are eating solid food, but you'll recognize the smell.

If at some point you decide to switch formula brands, expect the look – and feel – of your baby's poop to change. Its aroma might change, too.

Iron-fortified baby poop

Green baby poop is a sign of iron in your baby's formula. The iron in formula doesn't absorb as well as the iron in breast milk – hence the greenish hue. If you give your baby an iron supplement, their poop may turn dark green or almost black. This doesn't happen often, but it's normal.

One thing: If your baby's poop looks blackish and they're not taking an iron supplement, it's a good idea to call their doctor. Rarely, blood in infant stool can turn poop a black color, which is called melena. Your child's doctor can make sure there's no stomach bleeding to worry about.

Solid food baby stool

Once you start introducing your baby to solid foods – infant cereal, pureed bananas, and so on – you'll almost instantly notice a change in their output, especially if your baby is breastfed. Solid-food poop tends to be brown or dark brown and thicker than peanut butter, but still mushy. Get ready: It's also much smellier than exclusively breastfed poop.

Expect the consistency of your baby's poop to change depending on what they've recently eaten. Some bowel movements may look hard and pebble-like, while others can have that runny, mustard-like consistency of breastfed poops. There's nothing to worry about unless your baby seems to be straining or goes more than a few days without going at all.

Baby stool with partially digested food

Occasionally your baby's poop will have identifiable chunks of food in it or be tinged with a surprising hue of the rainbow, like red, orange, or dark blue – this isn't something you need to worry about. Red could mean beets, orange suggests carrots, and dark blue implies blueberries (you may even see tiny pieces of blueberry skin in there, too). 

You're likely seeing this because certain foods are only partially digestible or travel so quickly through the intestines that they don't have time to completely break down. It also happens when your baby eats a lot of one food or doesn't chew a mouthful completely before they swallow.

The time to call the doctor is if your baby's poop consistently has undigested food in it. Your baby's doctor will check to make sure their intestines are properly absorbing food and nutrients.

Photo credit: Original Shutter / Shutterstock.com

Baby diarrhea

Newborn diarrhea is very runny and looks like it's made up of more water than solid food. It can be yellow, green, or brown, and often can seep or "explode" out of their diaper.

Diarrhea can be a sign of an infection or allergy. If it lasts for a while without being treated, it can lead to dehydration. Call the doctor if your baby:

• Has signs of dehydration, such as crying without tears, dry lips, peeing less often than usual, or excess sleepiness
• Has diarrhea that doesn't go away after a few days
• Has visible blood or mucus in their diarrhea
• Has a fever along with the diarrhea

Photo credit: nutthapol Samjai / Shutterstock.com

Constipated baby poop

If your baby's poop is hard and looks like little pebbles, they're probably constipated. Your baby may look visibly uncomfortable when they're pooping, and the poop may be tinged with blood from irritating the anus on the way out. One or two pebbly diapers isn't a concern, but if the constipation doesn't improve, your baby is irritable, or you see blood in their stool, it's best to call their doctor.

Constipation often happens in babies who are being introduced to solid foods, or it can be a sign that your baby isn't getting enough fiber in their diet. Your doctor may recommend giving your baby water, pear, or prune juice to help move things along.

Baby poop with mucus

Does your baby's diaper look like it's been slimed? Greenish poop streaked with shiny, glistening strings means there's mucus in it. This sometimes happens when a baby is especially drooly, since mucus in saliva often goes undigested. Drooling can be a sign that a tooth is about to pop.

Mucus in poop can also be a telltale sign of an infection or food allergy. Rarely, it could mean your baby isn't absorbing enough nutrients from breast milk or formula. If the mucus is accompanied by any other symptoms (such as diarrhea or a fever) or it shows up in your baby's diaper for two days or more, call their doctor to rule out any problems.

Photo credit: Katarzyna Uroda / Shutterstock.com

Blood in baby's poop

Seeing red in your baby's diaper can be frightening, to say the least. Many of the possible causes of blood in baby stool aren't serious, like small tears in the baby's anus from passing large poops, or a cow's milk allergy. (Despite its name, a cow's milk allergy is more of an intolerance, and most babies grow out of this by age 1. It will require you eliminating cow's milk from your diet, if you're breastfeeding, or switching your baby to a formula without cow's milk.)

Sometimes the blood in infant stool is bright red from bleeding closer to the surface, and sometimes it's black (which means it's been digested). Sometimes, red dye in food or medication can also turn stool slightly red.

Call your doctor if you notice:

• Normal poop tinged with red blood, which is often a sign of a cow's milk allergy
• Constipated poop with a hint of red blood, likely a result of tears in the anus or hemorrhoids
• Diarrhea mixed with red blood, which can signal a bacterial infection

When black blood appears in a baby's diaper – usually in little flecks that look like black poppy or sesame seeds – it's often because your baby is breastfed and swallowing blood from your cracked and bleeding nipples. While this is a sign that you need some pain relief, it doesn't pose a threat to your baby. Still, it's best to call your baby's doctor to make sure it's not something more serious, like bleeding from their intestines.

Photo credit: Vadi Fuoco / Shutterstock.com

Chalky or white baby poop

Lots of seemingly frightening signs in your newborn's poop are nothing to worry about. Others, like white, grey, or pale-yellow stools, are good reason for concern. Pale stools can be a sign of biliary atresia – a blockage in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. Bile is the greenish fluid that helps us digest food and gives poop its brown color.

If your baby's stool looks especially pale, call their doctor right away. Biliary atresia is rare, but babies diagnosed with it need surgery to fix the blockage. The procedure works best when it's done before a baby reaches the 2-month mark.

Photo credit: © Holly Clark / Stocksy United

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Is it normal for my baby to poop after every feeding?

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The best diapers

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Stephanie Watson

Stephanie Watson is a freelance health and lifestyle writer based in Rhode Island. When she’s not busy writing, Watson loves to travel, try new cuisines, and attend as many concerts, shows, and plays as she can fit into her busy schedule.

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Constipation in children. Prevention. Diet therapy

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Sabitova Vasily Ilyasovna Gastroenterologist

06/21/2019

Constipation is widespread among both adults and children (5-30% depending on the diagnostic criteria). Symptoms become chronic in more than 30% of patients, not only cause discomfort and pain to the child himself, but also disrupt the quality of life of his family. nine0003

CONSTIPATION - a condition manifested by an increase in the intervals between bowel movements (compared to the individual norm) or systematically slow, difficult and / or insufficient bowel movements. Constipation also includes stools with “gruel”, but after defecation was absent for up to 3 days.

Constipation can be related to functional or organic causes (abnormalities, inflammation). In children, 90-95% of constipation is functional. The peak incidence of functional constipation falls on 2-4 years, when they begin to accustom the child to the potty / toilet. nine0003

Main causes of functional constipation

• Pain
• Fever
• Dehydration
• Wrong diet of a nursing mother
• Insufficient drinking regime of a child with artificial feeding
• Insufficient drinking regimen of a breast-fed child with the introduction of complementary foods
• Early transition of the child to artificial feeding
• Fast transition of the baby from one mixture to another (less than 7 days)
• Irrational nutrition of the child (for a long time the child receives food with a large amount of proteins, fats and insufficient dietary fiber, abuse of drinks containing a large amount of astringents - tea, coffee, cocoa)
• Excessive use of baby hygiene products or the development of an allergic reaction of the skin of the perianal area
• Consequences of perinatal injuries of the nervous system
• Rickets, vitamin D deficiency
• Anemia
• Impaired thyroid function (deficiency - hypothyroidism)
• Food allergy, especially cow's milk protein allergy
• Forced potty training, period of adaptation to new conditions (nursery, kindergarten)
• Physical inactivity - a sedentary lifestyle
• Mental trauma or stress
• Systematic suppression of the urge to empty the bowels, associated, for example, with the beginning of attending a kindergarten, school, etc.
• Taking certain drugs
• Constipation in family members

Frequency of defecation in children of different ages

In addition to the frequency of the chair, you should pay attention to its nature. For a more objective assessment, the “Bristol fecal shape scale” is convenient, since it is the shape of the feces, and not the frequency of the stool, that is more consistent with the time of intestinal transit. nine0003

Bristol stool chart

In accordance with this scale, 3 and 4 form of feces is regarded as normal, and 1 and 2 indicate delayed transit (constipation). Quite often, in practice, there are situations when a child has a bowel movement frequency within the normal range, but the stool is dense, fragmented, in a meager amount. These signs indicate incomplete emptying of the bowels and are considered as manifestations of constipation. nine0003

The consistency of the stool in newborns and infants should be mushy. From 6 months to 1.5 - 2 years, feces can be both formalized and mushy. From the age of two, the chair must be decorated.

Signs and symptoms of constipation

• abdominal pain, often bursting, aching, sometimes colicky
• bloating
• change in the shape and consistency of the stool
nine0027 excessive flatulence
• unpleasant smell of flatus and stool
• may have pain during bowel movements
• straining during bowel movements
• there may be blood in the stool - on the surface of the feces or in the form of traces on a napkin (indicates an anal fissure)

If you do not eliminate constipation and do not establish bowel movements, then there is a risk of coprostasis (formation of fecal stones) and fecal intoxication:

• loss of appetite
• lack of energy
• general malaise
• depression, irritability
• nausea, vomiting
• skin symptoms - dryness, rash, peeling
• fecal incontinence, stool spotting
• urinary retention and incontinence due to pressure from a crowded bowel on the bladder
nine0027 bleeding from fissures, hemorrhoids

The treatment of constipation involves the following goals:

1. Normalization of stool consistency (soft, painless stools)

2. Regularity of bowel movements (prevention of re-accumulation of feces)

The treatment of constipation is a sequential, complex, individual process and consists of several stages:

• child and parent education
• correction of nutrition and drinking regimen
• elimination of existing coprostasis with the help of medications
• maintenance therapy

It is necessary to exclude factors that provoke and contribute to constipation (normalization of motor and nutritional regimen, discontinuation of medications that can cause constipation, identification of a food allergen, exclusion or confirmation of neuromuscular disease, celiac disease, etc.). nine0003

Lifestyle normalization includes:

• development of a conditioned reflex
• active lifestyle
• gymnastics
• light abdominal massage training
• for small children - laying out on the stomach, bending the legs to the stomach.

Education is the first step in the treatment of functional constipation. It must be remembered that episodes of fecal smearing and encopresis (fecal incontinence) are not arbitrary and should not be blamed on the child, who may already be frightened and disoriented. In some cases, when the intra-family situation is difficult, the help of a family psychologist may be needed. nine0084

It is important to understand that the treatment of functional constipation can be lengthy, based on trust, partnership and requires patience. Modern laxatives that are legal in children will not make the intestines “lazy”, will not cause “addiction”, they enter the bloodstream in minimal amounts or are not absorbed at all and are safe for long-term use.

Correction of the behavior of a child with constipation is based on the development of a routine of visiting the toilet, in order to achieve regular defecation. Defecation should be every time at the same time. The urge to defecate is based on the gastrocecal reflex, which manifests itself in the morning 1 hour after eating. A child with constipation needs to spend 3-10 minutes in the toilet (depending on age). It is necessary to plant the child on a potty or offer to visit the toilet after each meal. nine0003

A prerequisite for effective defecation is to provide a good support for the legs (a low bench on which the child can put his feet), which helps to increase intra-abdominal pressure.

If the defecation is not successful, the child should never be punished and vice versa. The daily frequency of bowel movements can be noted in a diary, which can be analyzed at a scheduled visit to the doctor.

Treatment of constipation should begin with lifestyle changes, which include dietary modification, drinking regimen and physical activity. nine0003

Calculation of fluid volume for healthy children

Children under the age of 1 year should drink at least 100 ml of water per day.

For healthy children weighing 10 to 20 kg the water requirement is calculated using the formula:

100 ml (volume of water for children under 1 year old) + 50 ml per kg for body weight over 10 kg.

For example, with a mass of 12 kg: 100 ml + 2 x 50 ml = 200 ml.

A child weighing 20 kg should drink water: 100 ml + 50 x 10 = 600 ml

For children weighing over 20 kg the following formula is suggested for calculation:

600 ml (volume of water for a child weighing 20 kg) + 20 ml for each kg over 20 kg.

For children over 3-5 years old you can use the calculation of the amount of water: 30ml / kg of weight

Principles of diet therapy for constipation:

• satisfaction of physical needs for nutrients and energy
• exclusion of excessive consumption of proteins and fats, which can inhibit intestinal motility
• enrichment of the diet with dietary fiber
• normalization of intestinal microflora with pro- and prebiotics

If the child is breastfed, then the mother's nutrition is corrected (restriction of products that promote gas formation). With artificial feeding, special mixtures are shown. For constipation associated with an allergy to cow's milk protein, therapeutic mixtures are prescribed if the child is bottle-fed. If the child is breastfed, cow's milk and products based on it are completely excluded from the mother's diet. nine0003

After the introduction of “thick” complementary foods, boiled water is necessary for all children, regardless of the type of feeding.

For older children, it is recommended to eat foods rich in vegetable fibers. It is not recommended to “smear food”, puree, “snacks”, “eating on the go”. Food should be crumbly, meat / poultry / fish - “piece”. A “bulk” breakfast is required to stimulate the “gastrocecal reflex”.

The main source of coarse-fiber vegetable fiber, containing a large amount of dietary fiber, is cereal bran, rye bread, as well as a number of vegetables and fruits. According to the principles of evidence-based medicine, a statistically significant increase in stool frequency and improvement in its consistency was demonstrated with the use of fiber compared with placebo. nine0003

Bran, as the main source of vegetable fiber, is recommended to be added to the second and third courses, after pouring boiling water over it and settling for 20 minutes. Bran can also be used in between meals, drinking plenty of fluids. For school-age children, the total amount of fluid when taking bran should be at least 1.5-2 liters per day, otherwise they mainly act as sorbents, absorbing fluid from the intestines, thereby increasing constipation. The dose is selected individually, it is recommended to start with 1 teaspoon 2-3 times a day, with a gradual increase to 40 g per day. When the effect is achieved, the dose is reduced and limited to one dose. nine0003

The American Academy of Pediatrics (2009) recommends a fiber intake of 0.5 g/kg/day (maximum 35 g/day) for all children. Fiber intake below the minimum recommended value has been shown to be a risk factor for chronic constipation in children.

However, long-term intake of a large amount of plant fibers due to fermentation by intestinal microflora is naturally accompanied by bloating and flatulence.

Children with constipation are shown to take cool liquids on an empty stomach (drinking and mineral water, juice, compotes, kvass), to enhance the laxative effect, it is possible to add honey, xylitol or sorbitol. It is very beneficial for bowel function to increase the intake of juices containing sorbitol/sorbitol, such as juice from plums, pears, apricots, peaches and apples, nine0003

With “sluggish” bowel function (hypomotor constipation), cool mineral water of medium and high mineralization is used, such as Essentuki 17, Batalinskaya, Arzni, Donat Magnesium, etc.; with spastic constipation (hypermotor constipation, stool form more often type 1) - warm and low mineralization (Essentuki 4). Calculation of mineral water - 3-5 ml / kg per day.

It is necessary to limit milk in its pure form and in dishes, as flatulence may occur with the appearance or intensification of abdominal pain. It is better to replace whole milk with sour-milk products - kefir, acidophilus, yogurt, yogurt, etc. nine0003

The diet of children with constipation includes dishes rich in vegetable fiber - salads from fresh vegetables, greens 2-3 times a day, baked apples, stewed vegetables, diluted vegetable and fruit juices with pulp. Food is cooked mostly unground, steamed or boiled in water.

It is preferable to take raw vegetables and fruits (in the absence of contraindications). Especially recommended are tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, beets, lettuce, cauliflower, apples. Dried fruits (prunes, dried apricots, figs) are given in soaked form and as part of cooked dishes. White cabbage, young green beans, green peas are allowed with good tolerance. Parsley, dill, celery are good to add to various dishes and salads. nine0003

If after reading the article you still have questions or you do not understand how to apply the recommendations in your particular case, we invite you and your child to be examined by a pediatric gastroenterologist at the DDC. For the convenience of parents, you can make an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Children's Diagnostic Center on a weekday and on Saturdays.
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If a child has a fever, what should I do? nine0003

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Constipation in children under one year old

Usually, parents of babies are worried about the exact opposite problem - too frequent stools. Therefore, not everyone immediately understands what to do if a baby under one year old has constipation.

Gastroenterologist, hepatologist at GMS Clinic Sergey Vyalov gave an interview to the Internet portal parents.ru and spoke about constipation in children under one year old.

Introduction

Constipation, also known as diarrhea, stool retention, discolia, caprostasis, difficulty in emptying the bowel is not a universal condition with unambiguous characteristics. Each person, including a child, has his own indicators of the norm and deviations from it, associated with age, intestinal microflora, diet, state of mind and hormonal background, concomitant diseases. Yet there are a few common points of reference. nine0003

What is constipation?

Specialists diagnose constipation if the baby does "big" things:

• regularly and without problems, but passing dry and hard stools;
• with difficulty - the child has to push, the feces do not come out on the first try;
• less than 5 times per day.

In the first six months of life, constipation is a rather rare occurrence, rather, on the contrary, in the period from 0 to 6 months, 6-10 bowel movements per day are considered the norm. Breastfed babies have more frequent bowel movements, while artificial babies have less. nine0003

Up to 6 months constipation - rare

Usually, parents of babies in the first months of life are alarmed by the condition opposite to constipation - too frequent bowel movements. But in a baby, regardless of whether he eats breast milk or formula, the intestines should work exactly like this - in a mode that is considered diarrhea for older children and adults.

There should be no other option, at least until the introduction of complementary foods at 4-6 months. After all, the baby receives mostly liquid food, the waste products of which have the same consistency and leave the intestines without encountering any obstacles on the way - the baby has not yet learned to control the sphincter that restrains the release of feces. nine0003

The baby's intestines have just begun to "get acquainted" with microorganisms that come from mother's milk, from her skin (the baby licks the nipple), from the environment. Far from all new "partners" are accepted: there are rejected ones, those who have not taken root, and so on. Checking and rejection are accompanied by loose, unstable stools.

Too frequent bowel cleansing does not need correction and treatment if the child is gaining weight and developing properly. Normal appetite and sleep, gas, absence of fever and other signs of illness indicate that parents have nothing to worry about. If the mother of a baby, tired of changing diapers 10 times in one day, wants to change the situation and asks the doctor to prescribe fixing medicines for the baby, then, unwittingly, she will doom her baby to chronic constipation. nine0003

Not according to the rules

And yet, in the first 6 months, constipation in infants is not excluded. It can be called:

• microflora transmitted from the mother;
• insufficient fluid volume;
• stress.

Let's say a woman has too many methane-producing bacteria in her stomach and intestines that cause constipation. They grow rather slowly, ferment, releasing carbon dioxide, which contributes to flatulence and bloating. With this deviation, the woman lives, adapted and learned to solve the problem with the intestines in one way or another. Noticing the same thing in a child, she decides that the baby has inherited her features and "saves" him with the same means, making a mistake. Babies should not be given laxatives, especially those containing senna. The baby's body gets used to such drugs too quickly and without them it can no longer cleanse the intestines. nine0003

Constipation in a baby up to 6 months is also provoked by a lack of fluid and hormonal fluctuations. At 6 months, the baby should receive a lot of moisture - about 140 ml per kilogram of weight per day. A breastfed child gains this rate from mother's milk and does not need additional sources of liquid (but only if there is no predisposition to constipation). Little artificers are soldered from the moment they switch to a mixture.

If a woman is tense or nervous, then her level of the stress hormone cortisol rises. Through breast milk, saliva or sweat, the substance enters the baby's body and also provokes constipation. nine0003

Even if the mother does not breastfeed the baby, the constipating microorganisms sooner or later get to the gastrointestinal system of the crumbs and make negative changes in it.

Constipation after weaning

The kid is growing, improving his skills, and it's time to introduce him to new foods. These circumstances, on the one hand, help to establish peristalsis, and on the other hand, increase the risk of constipation.

Proteins, fats and carbohydrates that are part of the products are absorbed in the small intestine, and do not reach the large intestine, where feces are formed. What can not be said about fiber. While the baby is drinking breast milk or formula, this component of the dishes is not familiar to him. Even if a nursing woman herself consumes a lot of plant foods, the baby does not get anything. Fiber, as already noted, is not absorbed in the intestines, does not enter the bloodstream, which means that it is not in breast milk. For the first time, a baby gets fiber with complementary foods by trying its first 25 grams of mashed potatoes from zucchini, carrots and other vegetables. Plant fibers literally attract all waste to themselves, as a result, fecal masses are formed, which help the intestines to master the correct peristalsis. There are a lot of muscles in this section of the gastrointestinal tract, in the intestines, they must learn to consistently contract - tighten and relax in order to squeeze waste out. nine0003

The next new product should be introduced one month after the previous one. The novelty is likely to cause more frequent and loose stools at first. If it does not have a green color and does not foam, there is no need to run to the doctor and ask to prescribe fixatives. Be patient, after a while the innovation will be mastered and will bear fruit. Instead of liquid and shapeless yellow-white feces, you will see brown feces that have formed.

There are other causes of constipation in babies. Unfortunately, they are much more difficult to deal with, since these are developmental pathologies, diseases, and injuries.

Acute constipation. It develops for anatomical reasons, for example, due to obstruction of the large intestine, or during intussusception - the introduction of one part of the intestine into another, which causes blockage of the lumen. Against the background of complete well-being, the baby suddenly becomes restless, cries, refuses to eat. The attack ends as unexpectedly as it began, but after 3-5 minutes it repeats and intensifies: one or two times vomiting appears with an admixture of green bile. If the stool passes, then blood impurities are visible in it. After 5–6 hours, the stool stops, and bloody discharge comes out of the rectum. At the same time, the baby's stomach is soft. The temperature is usually normal. The child may even lose consciousness. With such symptoms, you need to call an ambulance. nine0003

Hirschsprung disease. It is based on a violation of the innervation of the large intestine - the central nervous system cannot control this section of the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, processed food accumulates in the intestines. The picture of the disease is quite diverse. If only the short part of the intestine is affected, then constipation forms gradually, and it is possible to do without surgical intervention for quite a long time. When a longer segment is affected, the absence of stool is fraught with a serious condition and immediate surgical intervention is required. nine0003

infectious attack. If in the first months of life the baby suffered an intestinal infection, the nerve cells in the large intestine may die, which will lead to a delay in the act of defecation, accumulation of feces and the development of constipation. With dysentery, the so-called toxic megacolon is possible (a sharp expansion of the colon). The child develops impaired consciousness and repeated vomiting. The abdomen increases sharply due to a greatly enlarged intestine. The complication requires emergency surgical care. nine0003

Problems with the CNS. Injuries during childbirth and the syndrome of infantile cerebral palsy also affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, as they are associated with various complications, such as impaired swallowing, regurgitation, and vomiting.

Vasculitis. Vascular inflammation extends to the nerve plexuses and sensitive cells located in the intestinal wall.

Disorders in the work of the endocrine system. With hypothyroidism (lack of thyroid function), the movement of contents through the intestines slows down. With dysfunction of the parathyroid glands, constipation occurs due to a violation of mineral metabolism, with diabetes mellitus it becomes the result of damage to the nerve plexuses of the intestine or dehydration of the child's body.

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