Causes of green stool in babies. How to change the situation. Artificially fed

When a baby is born, its organs and systems are not yet formed. This may lead to various problems, for example, changes in stool, which often cause parents to panic. This may be a green tint to the stool.

If the baby is on artificial feeding, there are more reasons for concern, so you need to figure out what is causing this phenomenon.

Causes

In questions children's health There is always the concept of a certain norm that everyone is guided by. But There is no norm as such regarding the baby’s stool. It can be anything, and if the baby has no signs of pathology, there is no need to panic in advance.

The very first stool of a baby, called meconium, is thick and viscous, has a dark color. green color.

Before complementary foods are introduced, stool is usually liquid. In artificial plants it is characterized by greater density and uniformity.

The appearance of greens in stool usually worries mothers, although it may not be associated with any pathology. The reasons for this phenomenon depend on the type of nutrition, so we will consider them specifically for artificial babies.

The most common reason is nutrition.. The baby’s body is not yet formed, so problems may arise with digesting food.

Stool in a bottle-fed newborn may be accompanied by mucus, it may be green due to the increased iron content in the mixture. Usually it is enough to replace the mixture, and the situation returns to normal.

There may be changes in feces when transferring the baby from natural to artificial feeding. Sometimes the body needs time to adapt, and then everything will be fine.

Also, when new foods are introduced into a baby’s diet, the feces may turn green. This can be caused by foods such as zucchini and broccoli.

And sometimes green chair in a bottle-fed infant - this by-effect from taking certain medications.

A common phenomenon at the beginning of life is dysbacteriosis. It appears when the necessary microflora is formed in the intestines.

At this time, the activity of pathogenic microorganisms increases, which can change the consistency and color of stool. Usually, when the microflora is formed, the bowel movements also return to normal.

However reasons for change in stool color may be more serious. It's about about congenital problems gastrointestinal tract, weakened immunity, enterocolitis, lactose deficiency.

To understand the exact reason, you need to analyze additional symptoms and show the baby to the doctor.

Warning signs

Sometimes green stool is normal. But sometimes he talks about serious violations.

Among the alarming symptoms of green stool:

• green feces in a bottle-fed baby it foams and has a strong unpleasant odor;
• green stools are loose and frequent;
• black spots with a putrid odor are noticeable in the stool;
• along with changes in bowel movements, there is a clear deterioration in the baby’s condition;
• mucus is noticeable in the green stool of a bottle-fed baby, bloody issues or inclusions.

If the consistency of green stool in a bottle-fed baby is foamy, this may indicate a lack of vitamins and other necessary components in the body.

If the stool has a strong unpleasant aroma , this may indicate the onset of inflammation.

If there are blood spots, digestive problems or disruption of the integrity of the intestinal lining may occur. It is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

There are other symptoms that, in combination with green stool they say the baby is unwell:

Should I go to the doctor?

If there is any suspicion of a deviation from the norm it is worth showing the child to a pediatrician. He will examine him and appoint necessary examinations, determine the cause and prescribe the necessary measures.

If the baby's condition is very bad, he has a high temperature, he cries a lot and suffers from pain, call Ambulance on house.

Go to a specialist if you notice any of these signs.

Diagnostic methods

If you suspect any problems need to get tested.

Coprology will help determine the causes of violations. She reveals Various types infections, if any.

A bacterial culture will be required. This measure helps to characterize the intestinal microflora.

Additionally may be required blood and urine tests. Based on the research results, the doctor will prescribe necessary treatment.

Treatment tactics

The measures that need to be taken will depend on the cause identified by the doctor. If the matter is not suitable for baby feeding mixtures, solve the problem by replacing it.

Sometimes the reason is the use of medications. The situation usually normalizes when they are cancelled.

Infants are often prescribed nutritional supplements with probiotics and prebiotics. Their task is to promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the body. This is Lactobacterin and so on.

If green stool in a formula-fed baby is caused by some disease, the doctor will prescribe treatment tactics. It is individual for each child.

In case of dysbacteriosis it will be necessary switch to adapted mixtures, which include live bacteria and prebiotics.

The main goal is to suppress pathogenic microflora. Used for this immunodrugs bacteriophages, capable of absorbing microbial cells and dissolving them.

Doctor prescribes probiotics, which will help populate the body with beneficial microflora, complements the treatment regimen with solutions - these are Regidron and Citroglucosolan.

Diet

Much in the matter of normalizing stool is given to nutrition. Optimally - transfer the baby to breastfeeding or at least mixed feeding.

If this is not possible, you can try replacing the mixture. It may not be suitable for the baby or may contain too much a large number of gland.

You need to select mixtures carefully, it is advisable to consult a specialist.

The child should eat less and more often. Every 2-3 hours he should eat as much as he wants.

Very often, parents try to give the baby all the formula at once so that it does not go to waste. This approach is wrong. The child overeats, the schedule gets disrupted, the digestion process changes, which can lead to green stools.

Liquid dark green stool in a bottle-fed infant in combination with other unpleasant symptoms may indicate an intestinal infection.

Breasts, whose body is not yet strong and cannot adequately resist, are more susceptible to it than others. Hospitalization may be required.

An important aspect of treatment is preventing dehydration. It is important to follow all doctor's instructions and not engage in amateur activities.

If not at all painful symptoms Green feces in a bottle-fed newborn are not accompanied by no need to worry.

Change in stool color– this is not a reason to refuse to introduce new foods into complementary foods. But if a rash is noticeable, a food allergy is possible. Appropriate measures will have to be taken.

No need to force your baby to overeat.

If you suspect problems with stool, try not to store diluted mixtures. Let the child consume them immediately after preparation.

Parents often store unfinished formula in the refrigerator. In principle, in the absence of health problems this is allowed, but storage time should not exceed four hours.

Preventive measures

The main prevention of stool problems is careful monitoring of the baby's nutrition. If negative reactions are noticed when consuming the mixture, you need to replace it with another, more suitable one.

Once you start introducing complementary foods, watch how your baby’s stool changes. Baby purees can cause changes in its color, making it green, red, or whitish.

Introduce new products to the menu must be done carefully and gradually.

It's worth taking care of general strengthening the child’s body, for example, take him for walks more often fresh air. Be sure to undergo examinations for preventive purposes.

The sooner any health problem is identified, the faster and more successfully it will be treated.

Green stool in a formula-fed baby- no reason to panic. But if it is accompanied by other suspicious manifestations, you should not ignore it. Visit your pediatrician - he will answer your questions.

In contact with

The first-born appeared in the family. This is a joyful event. The baby is brought from the maternity hospital, the diapers are unwrapped and they find... green liquid stool in the baby. Worried parents begin to wonder: what is the reason?

Before panicking, it is necessary to gain basic knowledge about the physiology of the baby.

In the first days after birth, a tiny person adapts to new survival conditions. He has already learned to breathe, regulate heat exchange and feed on breast milk.

Immediately after birth, the newborn has a completely formed stool dark color. This is original feces - meconium. In this way, waste nutrients received directly from the mother through the umbilical cord are released.

Adaptation to breastfeeding requires restructuring of the entire body. The entire system starts working digestive tract.

A baby's waste products are one of the indicators of the baby's health; they can be used to judge how adaptation to new living conditions outside the mother's womb is proceeding. After all, immediately after birth, the baby’s stomach and intestines are almost “sterile”. The correct intestinal microflora should gradually form. That is why the contents of the diaper are so carefully analyzed - for color, smell, consistency. It has always been customary to focus on some kind of norm, but one cannot call a single option the norm. In general, each child is individual, and if he does not show any signs of anxiety or illness, then there is nothing to worry about.

If a green liquid substance appears in the diaper, do not panic. Examine the contents of the diaper carefully. Sometimes the green color can become a normal reaction of stool oxidation in the air if the baby pooped a while ago. In the vast majority of cases, there is no reason to worry.

Baby chair

Baby's green stool breastfeeding- This is a variant of the norm. The baby consumes breast milk - food only in liquid form, therefore, his feces should have a liquid consistency. The smell of stool is sour, most often yellow color. The greenish, yellowish or brownish tint depends on the characteristics of digestion. The presence of small white lumps and patches of mucus is acceptable.

In children with any type of diet, green stool may simply be a reaction to substances entering the body or due to some changes in the developing intestinal flora.

Experienced mothers judge the health of the baby by the condition of the feces. Changes in color, smell, and consistency indicate possible problems in the baby’s body. Of course, green feces can be a signal of illness, but there must also be other symptoms of trouble. It is clear that the child will not be able to tell what and where it hurts, but he has his own “warning system” that adults can understand. If the child eats well, sleeps peacefully and does not cry for no reason, then it is clear to everyone that everything is in order with his health. If, in addition to green stool, other signs of malaise appear -

• frequent regurgitation;
• the appearance of a rash;
• frequent crying;
• increased mucus secretions in the stool;
• the appearance of a putrid odor in feces;
• restless sleep,

then you need to urgently consult a pediatrician.

Foamy green stool is often taken as a sign digestive system about lactose deficiency. However, such a diagnosis is rare. A similar effect can occur if the mother changes breasts too often or weans the baby from the breast prematurely, before he has stopped suckling. The reason is an imbalance of foremilk and hindmilk. It is known that foremilk is more watery, light, and hind milk is fattier, thicker, richer. nutrients. With this diagnosis, in addition to foamy green stools, there will be poor weight gain, since the baby receives the front, light milk, but not the last, “fat” portion.

Green stool may be due to secretions of bilirubin.

Also, green stool may be due to the mother taking certain medicines(antibiotics, iron), or maybe my mother’s menu gives such an effect (most often vegetables, for example, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.).

Up to one and a half months, the baby poops 3-10 times a day. The absence of stool during the day indicates an insufficient volume of feeding.

6 weeks after birth, bowel movements occur less frequently.

A breastfed baby receives milk daily different composition, depending on the mother's diet. Accordingly, the child’s stool may change.

If the stool has changed the worst side(liquefaction, bad smell, foamy discharge, the baby began to behave restlessly), you need to analyze your own menu. Everything that the mother ate was received with milk by the child. Spicy and fatty food will not benefit the baby, as will an excessive amount of sweets, strong tea and coffee, or excessive consumption of fruits and vegetables.

A nursing mother needs to reconsider her diet priorities. A balanced diet will have a beneficial effect on the baby's condition.

The baby's stool will change simultaneously with the correction of the mother's menu.

The introduction of complementary foods also affects the condition of feces. With an increase in the volume of regular food, the child’s feces begin to change, become more shaped, and change color.

During the period of introducing complementary foods, you should more closely monitor the child’s bowel movements. New food is perceived in a new way by the developing organism, and the load on the gastrointestinal tract increases. The stool will show which food will benefit your baby and what is best to exclude.

With an increase in the volume of complementary foods, the stool will become more and more formed, but if suddenly the baby has diarrhea, it is necessary to analyze the menu, understand what the baby’s intestines reacted to, and what should be excluded from the diet.

Another reason for changes in stool is illness. Children sometimes get sick. Doctors prescribe medications for them. If the drug is not suitable for the baby, the intestines will definitely react. You must notify your pediatrician about any changes and consult about further therapy.

About dysbiosis

Excessively frequent bowel movements (more than 10 times a day) with watery discharge may be a sign of dysbacteriosis. This condition is not a disease. Its essence is already in the name itself - the unbalanced composition of the intestinal microflora. In general, an imperfect composition of microflora is characteristic of infants, since their intestines are in the process of formation. It can even occur from giving the baby extra food, since boiled water already upsets the natural balance in the intestines. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis after laboratory tests.

If your child has very frequent bowel movements with copious discharge liquids, or when the baby farts frequently and marks remain on the diaper every time, you need to seek qualified medical help.

A child can and even should fart. But the air from the intestines, during normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, comes out dry and does not leave marks on the diaper or diaper.

With dysbacteriosis, the temperature often rises, regurgitation may become more frequent and even vomiting may occur. The stool takes on an unpleasant odor. Only laboratory tests will show which bacteria are missing.

Feces for dysbiosis are tested in a special sterile jar, which can be obtained at a children's clinic. Based on the results of the analysis, the pediatrician prescribes specific treatment. Remember: self-medication is dangerous! The baby is just adapting to new living conditions, the microflora in the intestines is at the stage of formation, so by incorrect actions, parents can cause serious harm to the child.

Breastfeeding with diarrhea

Stopping breastfeeding during diarrhea is unacceptable. Breast milk - optimal nutrition for a sick baby and the best help during the treatment period. Only a healthy baby can be weaned.

There are no unimportant questions when diagnosing symptoms. The doctor must be informed of all changes. Modern diapers allow you to save feces for demonstration to the doctor if parents are not sure about the normal functioning of the child’s intestines.

Green stool is usually an easily removable phenomenon.

If it is the result of mommy taking medications, then after they are stopped, the color will return to the same.

If your mother’s menu comes under suspicion, then you need to try to exclude the corresponding products that potentially provoke green stools.

If lactose deficiency is the culprit, you need to start breastfeeding. The breast should be alternated every two hours, but not more often, and the baby should be allowed to nurse as much as he wants.

Features of a baby's stool during artificial feeding

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to provide a newborn with breast milk. Modern industry offers a wide range of baby food. Unlike breastfeeding, when the composition of the milk depends on what the mother ate, artificial feeding represents the same composition.

The feces of a baby on IV are more dense and homogeneous. Artificial animals receive as food adapted mixture, which, unlike mother's milk, is always constant in composition. In this case, the baby may have green stool due to the composition of the mixture (for example, high iron content). As a result of taking iron-containing drugs, there will always be greenish stool, since when it comes into contact with air, the stool will change color. Also on artificial feeding in transition period Immediately after birth (when meconium transforms into regular stool), the color of the stool may have a greenish tint.

In any case, if a child has green stool and there are no other signs of ill health, there is no need to worry about the baby’s health.

It is necessary to examine the child: does he have any rashes on the skin?
If there is a temperature, you should examine the oral cavity for redness of the throat, gums or mucous membranes. If everything is in order, the baby eats and sleeps well, and does not show signs of anxiety, then the child is healthy.

Greetings, dear readers of my blog! I am writing for the attentive and loving parents, for those who are interested in knowing literally everything about their baby: how to treat snot, how to feed correctly, when the first teeth begin to appear (how this process works is written), what toys to buy and why the baby has green stool. That's it about the features of children's stool early age I would like to tell you today.

For caring fathers and mothers, it is normal to worry about any abnormalities and oddities in their child’s condition. Even a baby's stool can tell a lot. Find out why babies poop different color, what color and consistency is considered normal, depends on whether appearance baby feces from the method of feeding.

A baby's stool changes throughout the first year of life. It may differ in color, composition, density, smell. These changes depend on many reasons. We are now interested in the green color of the stool. Let's take it one by one: are there cases when this color of stool can be considered normal?

This may sound strange, but green feces in young children are often considered normal. Take, for example, a newborn baby. In the first days, he eats almost nothing or eats very little, but at the same time excretes a large amount of dark green (close to black) feces.

This is meconium, the baby's first bowel movement after birth. It is formed in the body from amniotic fluid, particles of epithelium and other substances that the baby swallowed in the womb.

In the subsequent days of its stay in the new world, the baby begins to eat other food - mother's milk. Feces lighten and acquire a yellowish tint. It is generally accepted that ideally a baby's stool should be the color of mustard.

From time to time, a child up to one year old has greenish stool, and mucous patches can be seen in it. The presence of mucus indicates the immaturity of the digestive tract organs, which are finally formed only last months first year This phenomenon cannot be called an anomaly.

We must also remember that in the first weeks of life, the child’s body strives to rid itself of bilirubin, this is also reflected in the color of the stool. Its color becomes dark and green.

A child's stool may acquire a greenish tint if it is not changed in a timely manner. baby diaper. Reacting with air, feces oxidize and turn green.

The same thing happens if a lot of iron enters the baby’s body (with the drugs received or with mother’s milk). Human milk contains hormones that can also affect the appearance of stool, causing it to turn green.

When a baby's teeth begin to come out, the digestive system often malfunctions. The result is the appearance of green feces.

If the baby begins to receive lure, his bowel movements will change significantly. It may turn green, especially from vegetables.

I promised to tell you how various ways Feeding babies affects the condition of their stool. Let me start the story.

Breast-feeding

Nothing affects a child's discharge more than the food he eats. Usually, a breastfed baby's stool color is sandy, yellow-green, sometimes with shades of mustard. The stool may contain undigested lumps of food. white, mucus, foam, bloody clots. The thickness also varies: from dense pulp to watery liquid. What does green stool indicate when drinking breast milk?

1. Errors in the diet of a nursing mother, these may be undesirable foods for child's body, sometimes it’s just some new type of food that is unusual for the child; often the green tint is caused by vegetables eaten by the mother.
2. Breastfeeding is not organized correctly: the baby does not receive enough full fat milk(the so-called “posterior”), and is content with only the watery (“front”). The mother does not allow the baby to finish eating and often changes breasts when feeding.
3. Mom takes medications or iron supplements.
4. Violation of the intestinal microflora of the baby or otherwise – dysbacteriosis.

Artificial feeding

The stool of bottle-fed babies is different from the stool of those fed with breast milk. It is thicker, with a noticeable odor, and the color is similar to the color of adult feces: ranging from yellow light shades until deep brown. Green coloring stool is not typical for formula-fed babies, as is its liquid consistency with mucus.

This is only possible if you switch to another type of formula that the baby is not yet accustomed to, or that does not suit him. And if in baby food contains a large percentage of iron, the green color of the stool is understandable.

Caution - danger!

When should you be wary? Listening to the conversation of mothers sitting on a park bench next to you, you will learn a lot: they can give you a whole lecture about the norms and deviations in the baby’s condition. So I got into a conversation with one mother who clearly considered herself an expert in the field of children's feces.

Having combined all the information I received from various sources in preparing this article, I have prepared the following selection of points that should be paid special attention to. So, the child has green stool, and accompanying symptoms have arisen, this bad sign, it's time to go to the doctor. These are the symptoms:

• The stool not only became green, but mucus appeared in it, it became liquid, frequent, with bad pungent odor. Perhaps this infection has entered the body, or maybe it is intestinal poisoning, an allergy or dysbiosis.
• A small amount of dark green, dense stool may indicate constipation.
• Foamy liquid stool with a sour odor - probable sign lactose intolerance.
• There is blood in the stool. Read about it.
• Strange looking stool accompanied by high temperature, vomiting, frequent and profuse regurgitation.
• There are pains in the intestines or stomach, rumbling and bloating in the abdomen, gases are constantly passing (or vice versa: their passage is difficult), appetite has decreased or is absent.
• The child constantly cries and is capricious without visible reasons, he has problems sleeping, his behavior is characterized by lethargy, drowsiness or increased excitability.
• The child does not have normal increase in weight, or his body weight began to decrease.
• Even signs common cold, such as cough, snot, sore throat, together with bad stool should become warning sign: The baby may be developing a rotavirus infection.
• Rashes on skin, itching, peeling and inflamed purulent foci.
• There is a bad smell from the baby's mouth.

Any other manifestations that seem suspicious to you should also serve as a reason for you to seek help from a medical facility.

What to do if you don’t like the color of your child’s stool?

• Analyze your diet if you are breastfeeding. Food should be high in calories and healthy.
• Set it up correct mode Breastfeeding: Feed on demand, allowing your baby to suck all the milk from your breast before offering another.
• Eliminate allergenic foods from your baby's menu if you are already giving him complementary foods.
• Introduce complementary foods gradually and according to age.
• Monitor the child’s condition and eliminate the causes of illness. Consult a doctor in a timely manner, do not start the disease.
• Be careful when consuming foods that can lead to fermentation processes.
• Change the mixture if it is not suitable.

When the appearance of green stool did not in any way affect the general well-being of the baby, and the accompanying alarming symptoms missing, no need to worry.

And I am finishing my article. Did you find something useful for yourself? Write about it in the comments. Don't forget to share articles on in social networks and subscribe to blog updates. Goodbye everyone, take care of yourself and your children!

Green stool in baby...

Green stool with mucus...

Green and foamy stool in a breastfed baby... The variety of options you see in your baby's diaper.

It is quite natural to worry and look for an answer - is this normal, or should the child be taken to the doctor?

In this article, you will get answers to your questions from a lactation consultant with 9 years of experience and will be able to cope with your worries.

What is the normal stool for a baby?

Most often, most breastfed babies vary from light yellow to green, sometimes with mucus, and sometimes with lumps of undigested breast milk.

It depends on the individual characteristics infant, and on how you breastfeed: exclusive breastfeeding or sometimes the child receives other liquids: water, chamomile, medicine.

Read why a breastfed baby has loose stools in a separate article; we have already discussed this issue in detail.

Green stool in baby

One of the main reasons for green stool is improperly organized breastfeeding.

In the mammary gland, relatively speaking, two types of milk are produced: fore and hind. Foremilk is rich in water and carbohydrates and is more liquid. If we draw an analogy with the nutrition of an adult, it is as if you and I were drinking tea.

Hind milk, it is thicker, contains fats and proteins. It is more filling, and it is its intake that is important for infant weight gain. It's like having a plate of mashed potatoes and a cutlet with you.

It cannot be said that one type of milk is more important than another. Everything must be in balance. But if the baby's stool is regularly green or has become greenish, this is a signal that the baby is not sucking out enough hind milk.

What to do if your child has green stool?

1. Be sure to achieve correct application baby to breast:

• Place the breast into the baby's wide open mouth;
• We make sure that not only the nipple, but also the areola area is in the mouth ( dark part skin around the nipple);
• You shouldn't feel any pain while breastfeeding;
• The tip of the baby's nose touches your chest;
• There is no air whistling during sucking.

1. Allow your baby to suckle for as long as he wants

The baby suckles at the breast as much as he needs. One child is stronger and can get enough in 15 minutes, the other was born weaker and requires longer feeding. We do not limit sucking in time, we do not sit and look at the clock.

1. We do not transfer the baby from one breast to the other during one feeding.

This rule is valid for up to 6 months. After 6 months, the child is already strong, has learned to suck, everything is fine with him and he can give two breasts at one feeding. In the first months of a child’s life, use the rule: one breast is on duty for 2 hours, the other for 2 hours. During this time, the baby can latch on to one breast 2-3 times, or maybe more, and then you transfer him to the other.

At night, in order not to get confused, follow the rule: every feeding is a new breast.

Green stool with foam for baby

Foamy stools - what could this indicate?

You need to pay attention to those things that were listed just above. We eliminate the imbalance of foremilk and hindmilk during feeding.

Foamy stools are very common weather conditions. The child may react:

• on the new moon,
• on the full moon,
• on strong changes temperatures,
• on strong wind The child may develop foam in the stool.

No need to give it to your child right away medicines. Foam in a baby's stool is a temporary phenomenon.

You just need to observe this and try to correct it through proper feeding chest.

Watch my video tutorial about baby stool:

Testing baby's stool for dysbacteriosis: should I take it or not?

Very often, when you start to worry about the structure of the poop or its color, you tell your local pediatrician about your concern.

What can a local pediatrician do? Send your child for a stool test to check for dysbacteriosis.

You need to understand that the intestinal microflora takes a long time to form, but gets lost very quickly.

Did you have to adult life take a course of antibiotics? Have you noticed how they affect your gut? Normal work is interrupted. Some people get very confused.

Why do they always say: take antibiotics under the guise of some other lactobacilli? Because there is a strong blow to the entire microflora: both good and bad.

Just imagine a child in whom this balance has not yet been established; it is many times more sensitive than our adult. You are 20 years old and above, and the child is only a few months old. Treating tests is the very last thing that can be started in relation to a child.

A stool test for dysbacteriosis is not necessary if normal development child, with good weight gain. So what if there is an imbalance there? There may be staphylococcus there, but again there may be epidermal staphylococcus, which we also have on our skin.

The important thing is not how much bad, but also how much good, that is, in proportion!

Important: When you take a test, ask yourself: “What will I do with this test?”

I have a second daughter, and when she was 3 months old I had to take a course of antibiotics. Against this background, she developed allergic spots on her body and, of course, I was worried. I called a good friend who understood the topic of allergies and asked: can I get tests and scrapings?

And she told me: well, if you take a test, they will tell you that there is something there, will you give antibiotics to the child?

I say no, I won't.

That's it, relax.

She listed for me all the drugs that are most often prescribed, and said: “Sit down, read the instructions for these drugs. Will you deliberately give them to your child at 3 months?” I say "No.

- “Well, why then the tests?”

This is a personal story, and I do not encourage you to do the same. I just took a different route - I turned to a homeopath in order to raise the general level of immunity. When Vicki was 6 months old, we contacted her and at 9 months old this allergic spot disappeared in an instant and that’s it, and never appeared again. Now the child is 5 years old, ugh, ugh, he never gets enough sleep.

It has long been a known fact that baby stool is an indicator of the well-being of the digestive system. By the color, quantity, smell and impurities in the stool, one can judge the nature of nutrition, the development of dysbiosis and infectious inflammatory diseases of the intestine.

The most common concern for parents is green stool in an infant, especially loose stool. For correct assessment stool, you need to know the normal criteria for a child of the first year of life. The appearance of green stool is often normal for an infant.

In fact, the color, smell, consistency and volume of a baby's stool depend on many factors in the first year of life:

• Type of infant feeding.
• Features of nutrition of the mother of a child who is on natural feeding in the first year of life.
• Replacing or introducing a new formula in children on artificial nutrition.
• Immaturity of the digestive system, which is fully formed by the end of the first year of life.
• General deviations in the baby's health.

It is possible to evaluate the overall stool of a baby only from the second week of life, because Green stool in a newborn is not dangerous. In the first 5–7 days, meconium is released - the first stool of a newborn, consisting of mucus, water, epithelial cells and bile. The color of meconium is often dark green or black, viscous and sticky, but odorless.

Features of stool during breastfeeding

In a baby who feeds only on mother's milk, the stool is yellow, yellow-green or dark mustard in color with various shades and granular impurities. The feces have the consistency of thick sour cream or mushy, possibly foamy and liquid, with a slightly sour odor. The frequency of stools up to 1.5 months of age is 5–12 times a day; the older the baby, the less frequent the stools. If the child is developing correctly, by the age of three months the frequency of stool should be 4-6 times a day, in some babies 1 time.

The color of stool can also be affected by the hormone content in mother's milk, physiological imbalance of the intestines of an infant, immaturity of the enzymatic system. Also, rapid oxidation of feces on outdoors may cause discoloration. The color of feces in a newborn baby during natural feeding changes very often, and depends to a large extent on the mother’s nutrition and on the child’s absorption of nutritional ingredients.

Liquid green stools may occur in a baby if a nursing mother changes her diet suddenly. You need to introduce new dishes into your diet very carefully. Nutrition should be complete and multifaceted; attention should be paid not only to the choice of products, but also to their preparation. For example: fatty, fried, spicy foods can easily cause changes in a child’s stool. Care should be taken when using medications that can cause changes in the color and odor of stool, cause loose stools, and lead to allergic reactions.

To maintain normal digestion in the baby, the mother should use following rules power supply:

1. Use different types of meat, fish and poultry - lean and preferably boiled.
2. In addition to meat, protein should come from dairy products in the form of cottage cheese and cheese. Avoid consuming large amounts of whole foods cow's milk, because it often leads to allergies in the first year of life; it is better to replace it with kefir or yogurt.
3. Food should contain a large amount of dietary fiber, coming from vegetables and fruits. It is not recommended to eat orange and red fruits, as well as exotic foods.
4. To avoid the appearance foamy stool The baby should limit foods that lead to fermentation in the intestines. These include: confectionery, grapes, sweet drinks and all products with a huge sugar content. Also highly concentrated broths, smoked products and pickles.
5. Be extremely careful when adding foods with high risk development of allergies. These include citrus fruits, tomatoes, chicken protein, strawberries, chocolate, and peanuts.

Features of stool during artificial feeding

In a baby on artificial or mixed feeding, the stool has a denser consistency, loose stool it doesn't happen normally. The frequency of stools is 1–2 times a day, rarely once every 48 hours. The color ranges from light yellow to dark brown, resembling adult feces. Has very Strong smell. Feces with green tint, liquid or mushy, is rare in artificial people. Happens when changing the usual nutritional mixture on new mixture, especially with a high content of the microelement iron.

Green chair

If the stool of a newborn baby seems to be the usual yellow-green or green color, but has become very foamy and a sour, foul odor appears. This often indicates a lack of breast milk from the posterior chamber. According to its properties, it is fattier, higher in calories and contains enzymes that help digest lactose (milk sugar). In case it is observed similar situation it can be easily fixed:

1. It is impossible to change the breast at the first difficulty in sucking; this way the child does not receive milk from the posterior chamber.
2. To stimulate milk production in the posterior chamber, the baby should be breastfed on demand, not on a schedule.
3. You should not give your baby water or juices in the first half of the year, as this reduces the baby’s desire to breastfeed.
4. It is necessary to monitor correct position newborn baby while sucking. If the baby is uncomfortable, he will often abandon the breast.
5. For good lactation it is necessary to feed in a calm environment and on a full stomach.

Has your child developed loose green stools with a lot of mucus? You need to worry if the child’s behavior changes - if the child has become restless, capricious and irritable. If the child’s behavior has not changed, the appearance of mucus may be normal.

Situations requiring treatment

1. The frequency of stool has increased, the stool has become watery and has an unpleasant odor. Sour-smelling stool often indicates lactose deficiency. The smell is putrid, pungent and appears with a viral or bacterial infection of the intestines and the intestinal form of cystic fibrosis. Severe diarrhea more than 12 times a day indicates damage to the small intestine, most often due to a viral infection.
2. Body temperature rose.
3. The stool is green, foamy, with a lot of mucus, often mixed with blood. At the same time, the child is restless, refuses to eat, and does not sleep. This situation often develops with bacterial damage to the large intestine and allergic reactions for food or medications.
4. In addition to diarrhea, vomiting and regurgitation appeared, the child did not gain or lost weight. Weight change in children in the first year of life is important indicator health.