Normal stool frequency in a newborn. Green stool in a bottle-fed baby. Features of the digestive system in children

Very common condition small child evaluated by the nature of the stool. Many problems can be solved at the initial stage. To do this, you need to know the norm and deviations for the main indicators: stool frequency, color, consistency. All these characteristics may differ depending on what kind of feeding the baby is on.

The chair of children who are on breast milk has its own characteristics.

The number and frequency of stools fluctuate frequently.
Stools up to 12 times a day are not considered a digestive disorder, and the absence of a stool for three days is not constipation.
After the introduction of complementary foods (not earlier than the sixth month), the baby's stool depends on the foods eaten, but not on what the mother ate. The diet of a nursing woman does not affect feces.

What stool test result is considered normal?

Stool from yellow to green.
The presence of bilirubin can be traced up to the 8th month.
Sour smell.
White blood cells, streaks of blood, mucus, and milk clots may be present.
Unformed intestinal microflora.

Key metrics: what you need to know

Stool standards may change. It depends on the general condition of the baby, what kind of food it receives (formula or breast milk), whether complementary foods are introduced into the diet. If the child is on breastfeeding, then feces has the following norm.

Color can vary from light yellow to brown. For a child who eats breast milk, a greenish tint to the stool will also be the norm.

Feces can change color for several reasons:

Normal stools can vary in consistency from thick to runny. It is important to distinguish the state of diarrhea from the norm.

Worrying moments:

the stool becomes watery;
bowel movements frequent;
appears bad smell;
pronounced green color;
high body temperature;
the appearance of vomiting;
mucus, blood, foam can be observed in the feces;
the child looks lethargic, drowsy, apathetic.

Parents need to know that with an increase in body temperature, a change in the behavior of the baby, loss of appetite and poor weight gain, an urgent need to see a doctor.

Baby feces always have various impurities

A large number of white lumps may indicate overeating of the baby. Not enough enzymes to digest all the milk.
A small amount of mucus is always found in the stool. In the case when it becomes larger, we can talk about the beginning of the inflammatory process. There are several more reasons for the appearance of mucus in the stool in a breastfed baby: improper attachment to the chest early introduction complementary foods, infections.
Foam may indicate dysbacteriosis, food allergies, abdominal colic. The appearance of abundant foam indicates an intestinal infection.
The appearance of blood in the feces may be the result of cracks in the anus, an inflammatory process in various departments gastrointestinal tract, lack of vitamin K, helminthiasis.

Changes from birth to year

If the child is breastfed, then the composition of the feces will depend on what the mother ate, and on the characteristics of the development of the digestive sphere of the child. If mom eats foods that weaken, then the stool will liquefy. And vice versa.

As soon as the baby is born, within three days he has a first-born stool - meconium comes out. It has a black color and a viscous composition. After that, the baby will begin to poop with ordinary feces, which have color of mustard and medium liquid consistency. There may not be a chair for several days, since the child has completely freed the intestines from the contents.

When breastfeeding a child, his feces acquire a greenish tint, liquefy and acquire a sour smell.

Around the second week of life, transitional milk changes to mature milk. The child's digestive organs begin to get used to these changes. Often there are colic, regurgitation. By the end of the first month, milk acquires its final composition.

At 1 month, the baby defecates after almost every feeding. At 2 months, the frequency of stool decreases up to 4 times. The norm is yellow color, liquid consistency, milky smell.

The third month is characterized by the fact that the child can poop every other day. During this period, there is a change in the composition of breast milk and enzymes in the intestines of the child. If the child rarely poops, but does not experience discomfort, you just need to wait out this period.

After the 6th month, changes in the stool can be observed. It becomes more pronounced Strong smell, the consistency thickens. These changes can occur even if complementary foods have not been introduced. This is due to the fact that the child's body is preparing for a new food and began to produce more enzymes.

It is very important to ensure that the baby sucks out not only foremilk, which is a means of quenching thirst for the child. by all nutrients has hindmilk, which is more difficult for a baby to get to.

The appearance of green liquid stools indicates that the child is fed only with foremilk. Mom should keep the baby at one breast longer during feeding.

Important points: how to recognize the problem

Problems with stools during breastfeeding can occur for the following reasons:

feeding the child according to the regimen;
lack of milk;
supplementation with water;
early feeding with mixtures;
early introduction of complementary foods.

If the following symptoms appear, you should seek medical help:

Stool more than 12 times a day.
Rare urination.
Copious, frequent regurgitation.
Stomach ache.
Bad breath.

How to fix the situation: tips for solving the problem

Constipation in a child can be suspected in the following cases:

the child has not pooped for more than three days;
the behavior of the baby becomes capricious, there is constant crying;
the child has a hard stomach;
feces become dry and very hard;
suspicion of abdominal pain in a child (he often bends his legs to his tummy).

Do not resort to self-treatment and use people's councils(thermometer, soap). All these methods can lead to disruption of the intestinal microflora and inflammatory processes. Constipation is rare in breastfed babies. A symptom can be not only a long absence of feces. It becomes hard and dry.

What foods are weak? Help change the situation following products: cereals, fruits, boiled vegetables, kefir. Prunes will help to establish the process of digestion. To do this, a woman should eat about 4 pieces of this dried fruit on an empty stomach in the morning.

Thick stools may occur due to preparations that contain iron. They are usually prescribed to mothers in the first months after childbirth to raise hemoglobin.

Another reason that the feces are thick is a violation of intestinal motility.

To adjust the chair will help:

laying the baby on the stomach before feeding;
a sufficient amount of liquid;
belly massage;
gymnastics.

If all these methods do not help, they resort to laxatives. medicines. What medicines are allowed for babies with constipation? Glycerin suppositories or Microlax preparation instantly weaken and lead to the desired result.

From the diet it is better to exclude foods that cause increased gas formation and worsen the situation. What foods should not be consumed? These are peas, grapes, cucumbers, cabbage. If there are white lumps in the feces, then this indicates poor digestion. breast milk. Enzyme preparations, which should be prescribed only by a doctor, help to normalize the situation.

Frequent liquid stool may occur due to infection in the body.

Dangerous symptoms:

temperature increase;
the stool becomes very liquid;
the appearance of copious amounts of blood, mucus;
lack of weight gain;
regurgitation, vomiting.

In this case, only medicines will help to improve the stool: antibiotics, antiviral drugs, prebiotics. Mom should not eat foods that weaken and lead to increased gas formation.

Don't worry and quit breastfeeding. The main thing is to recognize the problem in time and consult a doctor. Self-medication can lead to serious problems with the health of the baby.

Ekaterina Rakitina

Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Klinikum, Germany

Reading time: 4 minutes

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Article last updated: 02/05/2019

At the age of up to 1 year, the baby grows and develops intensively, changes occur almost every day. And the newly-made mother is worried about even the smallest changes happening to her baby. She cares not only how he eats or sleeps, but how and why he cries, how he poops. What determines the color of the feces of a child 2 months old? Should I be worried about this? And what should be done?

Fecal masses of the baby - the norm for children of 2 months

The stool in a child of this age is unformed and mushy. It may be watery due to the fact that the baby receives milk of insufficient fat content. Feces are stained depending on the food that the baby takes and can be either light brown or dark brown with an admixture of greenery.

Until the 8th month, the admixture of greenery can be explained by pigmentation with bilirubin (bile pigment). There may be small lumps of curdled milk and some mucus in the stool. This is considered a variant of the norm.

Causes of "greening" of the baby's feces

Why does a baby have green stools? The etiology of changes in the shade of feces is the most diverse, from natural to pathological:

related to nutrition;
teething;
dysbacteriosis;
allergic reactions, including reaction to milk proteins and lactose;
intestinal infections;
SARS;
reaction to vaccinations and antibiotic therapy.

The influence of nutrition should be considered separately. Pathological signs, despite all their diversity, have a common denominator - this is the child's anxiety, his regular crying and sleep disturbance.

In some cases, a change in the color of feces is accompanied by an increase in body temperature to febrile numbers and impaired respiratory function. In this case, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Dysbacteriosis

Dysbacteriosis or dysbiosis is one of the most common diagnoses in children 2 months of age. In addition to changing the color of feces, dysbacteriosis is accompanied by constipation / diarrhea, increased regurgitation, anxiety and sleep disturbance. One of the reasons for the development of dysbiosis in a child is antibiotic treatment.

Allergy

Allergic reactions are also common. It is associated with errors in the diet of the mother during breastfeeding and the hyperreaction of the body to the components of the mixed substance when artificial feeding. It manifests itself as diarrhea of a green tint, anxiety, in some cases subfebrile condition, and skin symptoms - peeling, pustular rashes, eczema.

lactase deficiency

Lactase deficiency is a hereditary disease symptomatic manifestations which are diarrhea of a green tint, restlessness of the crumbs and skin manifestations (milky scab, eczematous rashes, etc.).

Intestinal infections

Intestinal infections are very dangerous, especially for a baby of this age. With diarrhea and a sharp increase in bowel movements, with foamy stools of green or black color mixed with blood, an increase in body temperature, you should immediately contact a specialist.

Colds, vaccinations, teeth

Respiratory infections, teething, vaccinations may be accompanied by intestinal disorders and "greening" stool. There is nothing dangerous in this, and over time, the symptoms disappear without medical intervention.

Important! If the color of the feces changes, anxiety and an increase in the body temperature of the child, you should immediately consult a doctor. In this age infectious diseases can be very dangerous.

Breast milk and its effect on stool color

If an infant is breastfed, the color and quality of his feces depends on:

food eaten by mother;
quality of milk and how much milk the baby sucks (closer is the less fat part, fat milk the baby receives by sucking the breast to the end).

Important! The color of the food eaten by the mother affects the shade of the crumbs' feces. Vegetables and fruits (lettuce, herbs, apples, broccoli, spinach, etc.) that have a greenish color will give the feces a dark green, and sometimes quite bright color. This is fine.

If the baby is lazy and does not suck out the breast completely, he receives a product depleted in fats. This makes his stool more liquid and gives it a greenish color. Fats are what make feces brown.

A green tint and liquid feces are not dangerous, but it is better to teach the baby to suck out one breast at one feeding (with sufficient lactation).

The mixture and its effect on the color of stools

With artificial feeding, the stool usually changes color when moving from one mixture to another. Light green stools can be with a high iron content in the mixed mass.

If the mother is concerned about the color of the feces, you can change the mixture to the baby and look at the result. You just need to do it right, smoothly transferring the baby to another diet for 1-2 weeks.

Green impurities in the stool - it's time to worry

Why do 2 month old baby green chair? This question can only be answered qualified specialist. In most cases, there is no reason to worry, however, it is imperative to call a doctor if the following symptoms are present:

change in the smell of stool (putrid or pronounced sour);
there is an admixture of blood in the feces;
there is a decrease in body weight of the baby;
body temperature rises to febrile numbers (from 38 ° C);
concerned about sleep disturbances and tearfulness;
have skin rashes;
the baby often spit up and in a larger volume than usual.

In infancy, the main signs of the development of the pathological process in the child's body are his lethargy, Bad mood, sleep, weight loss and fever. In this case, action on the part of the parents should be immediate.

If everything is fine with the baby, but his stool, urination or other phenomena bother the parents, it is worth consulting with the doctor as planned. There is nothing shameful or shameful in this.

Whether your newborn baby is healthy can be judged by his surprises in diapers. So, how many times a day should a newborn poop and you will learn everything about baby excrement from our article.

The infant and his stool

Baby faeces - important indicator his well-being. How much a newborn should poop and contents: their color, texture, volume and inclusions are the main indicators of the functioning of the digestive organs. Whether food is suitable for the baby, is it enough, is your baby healthy - all this can be understood by the state of feces.

Having found minor changes, is it necessary to rush to the doctor or should it be so? It is important to know what the baby's feces can be and pay attention to it.

Not yet born, the baby is fed through the umbilical cord. The intestines and stomach are formed in such a way that they can only process liquid food. At the birth of an infant, intrauterine food is present in his gastrointestinal tract.

With the advent of the baby into this world, they are immediately applied to the mother's chest. This is done so that the newborn drank at least a little colostrum, which contains the mass useful substances. It is colostrum that contributes to the normal start of bowel function.

With the birth of a baby, his feces are green, brown or even black and they are called meconium. It may contain inclusions of mucus and lumps - this is how food that was digested in the womb leaves.

In the maternity hospital, doctors and nurses are always interested in whether blood is present in the baby's stool, did he poop within 12 hours after birth? This testifies to normal development baby and the full formation of his digestive system.

How many times should a newborn poop at 1-6 months

Each baby is already an individual, therefore, the concept of "norm" is very relative. All babies have their own bowel cleansing routine. Some babies feel hungry often, while others poop once a day - this is the rule.

The following factors influence how many times a newborn should poop:

specificity of digestion;
type of infant feeding;
health status of the baby;
type of birth.

If the newborn is breastfed, it has a laxative property, so the baby can poop at every feeding. Thus, you can calculate how many times a newborn poops on average per day - 10 feedings, therefore, defecation acts are also 7-10.

We figured out the breastfed children, but how many times should a newborn poop on artificial feeding? With this option, the number of bowel movements is reduced, since the substitute mixture is absorbed longer by the child's body. A bottle-fed newborn can poop up to 5 times a day.

The number of bowel movements in infants is determined by the type of food (feeding). If the baby eats breast milk substitutes, then they feel the need less often than babies who are breastfed.

How much should a baby poop at 1 month old?

The child was born, digestion began to work, the first stool in a newborn is meconium. The baby is able to poop 5-6 times a day. After five days, the baby begins to determine its own emptying rhythm. month old baby pooping 5 to 10 times.

Newborns may poop during or after feeding. The stool in a newborn becomes less frequent with the transition of a woman's colostrum with its laxative properties to mature milk.

How much should a baby poop at 2 months?

Digestion improves, bowel function normalizes. And the baby began to empty less, because it was established individual mode. two month old baby needs about five times. But, if your baby poops only once in two days, then this is also considered a personal norm. But it is important to remember that the act of defecation should take place without effort and tears.

How much should a baby poop at 3 months?

The baby grows up and empties less often: both 1-2 times in 5 days, and 3-5 times a day. If baby infancy eats exclusively mother's milk, then he can not poop for 3-4 days. There is no reason to worry here, because this means that your milk is very suitable for the baby, and it is well absorbed.

How older child, the less often it is emptied: by 6 months, the number of bowel movements is reduced: 2-3 times a day; by one year - the child poops 1-2 times.

Therefore, how often a newborn should poop, that is, the number of bowel movements - this is the personal regimen of each baby. The main criteria for a “normal” frequency are:

regular and painless feces;
stool without bloody (pathological inclusions);
the baby is in excellent health;
the baby is gaining weight.

Change in stool in a newborn to GV and IV

Depending on the type of baby's diet, his feces may vary.

Defecation of the baby while breastfeeding

The stool of a breastfed newborn is caused by such phenomena:

mom's diet if she is breastfeeding;
the amount of mother's milk;
correct feeding.

In order not to cause additional discomfort in the ventricle to her baby, the mother needs to follow a rational diet, because the well-being of the baby depends on what the mother eats. It is recommended to exclude: fatty, too salty or sweet foods, as well as foods that can cause an allergic reaction.

Violation of the basics of the feeding process itself (for example, a quick breast change during one feeding) can provoke “hungry” greenish liquid stools. So, the mother deprives the child of the most nutritious and fatty milk (back), which can receive only the first (front), not very fatty.

Therefore, experts who deal with breastfeeding issues recommend feeding a baby from one breast for more than 20 minutes and not rushing to change it during one feeding.

At breastfeeding mother's milk, which has a laxative property, softens the stool. The baby poops intensively: after each meal (it also happens during it). The stool of newborns is usually golden yellow color with a greenish tinge and a sour smell (this aroma indicates a milky type of feeding). They are not hard, and outwardly look like a rare puree soup or liquid sour cream.

The stool in a breastfed newborn changes as he grows up. How much should a breastfed newborn poop? month old baby poops every time after breastfeeding. By the end of the second month, the child poops half as much, and the third - every day or every other day. The change in stool frequency in newborns is associated with the renewal of mother's milk, the development of digestion and the production of necessary enzymes.

Breastfed babies may not have a bowel movement for up to several days.

In doing so, the following factors must be taken into account:

is your child restless;
whether gaziki are actively departing;
Is the baby gaining weight in accordance with the norm;
whether there is enough urine;
when the stool comes out, is its volume normal, is there a putrid smell.

How does a child poop with artificial nutrition

When replacing women's milk, baby feces can change in such cases:

when changing the adapted substitute mixture;
with the physiological development of the digestive organs.

Formulas are designed to have a similar composition to breast milk, but are processed and absorbed differently. These differences can be observed in the defecation of babies.

Feces are thicker in consistency and darker in color: yellow, light brown and even brown, the smell is unpleasant and more pronounced? Probably, decay processes predominate. The number of bowel movements in such children is reduced by almost half, while they may be irregular. The reason for this is the density of feces, they linger in the intestines for long time and affect how many times a day a newborn should poop.

Because of this, babies who eat formula substitutes are more prone to constipation. Normally, the body needs to cleanse itself at least once a day. Stool retention during this time is a reason to start applying preventive techniques.

Frequent change of infant formula is not good for children, as well as improperly selected nutrition. This can be reflected in constipation or, conversely, an increase in bowel movements.

Stool characteristics: volume, consistency, color, smell

The volume and consistency of baby feces

From the first days of a baby's life, doctors advise young parents to observe not only how often the child poops, but also the quantity and consistency of feces.

Consider how and how many times a newborn should poop if his health is normal. From how much the baby will eat mother's milk or an adapted mixture, will depend on the amount of excreted stool.

In the first month of life, a baby poops a little: approximately 5 g at a time. This is about 15-20 g per day. The more he eats, the larger the volume of the stool in the newborn: in half a year the volume doubles, and in a year they are about 100-200 g.

The volume of children's faeces is also determined by its number of times, i.e. you can poop profusely, but rarely, or you can not very abundantly, but often.

Parents need to worry if the child has watery feces more than 12 times a day. If the baby poops once in 5 days, but appearance faeces are fine, and the cub good mood- your baby has no violations.

According to the volume of children's feces, they say whether there is enough milk for the baby. In this case, weight gain must be taken into account. From the second week of life, the little one gains an average of 150 g per day.

The consistency of feces can also be used to judge the health of the baby. Normally, children's feces have a mushy appearance. It is a liquid or more or less dense homogeneous mass.

It may contain a small number of whitish lumps. With the start of the use of complementary foods, the feces of the child are modified. The stool in a newborn takes shape, and with growing up it becomes more and more dense.

The consistency of children's feces in formula-fed children is thicker, this is due to their long passage through the large intestine.

The color of the feces of infants and their smell

Usually, feces in children are yellowish in color or have such shades: from light, golden to yellowish-brown and actually brown.

In the early days of a baby, his stool (meconium) looks dark green. Chair month old baby take on a yellowish-brown hue. After three months, the stool is already brownish in color with a mustard tone.

With growing up, the fecal gruel changes its color - it darkens. This happens with the beginning of the introduction of complementary foods or the transfer to adapted mixtures. At one year old baby the stool has a color close to an adult: dark brown.

Green-tinged feces

Young parents may be concerned green tint children's feces. But this color is the norm. Let's consider why this happens.

The factor that determines the greenish color of feces is bilirubin, a bile pigment. This is especially true in the treatment physiological jaundice newborn. At this point, bilirubin is actively separated, due to the breakdown of the mother's hemoglobin. And the stool becomes greener.

You can observe that yellow stools turn green in the air in a matter of minutes. The reason for this is the same bilirubin. Up to 6–9 months, this substance can be excreted with bowel movements until its microflora is fully formed.

Parents need to know the following and pay attention to it. At baby there was no green stool, and suddenly it became like that or mucus and streaks of a greenish tint appeared? In this case, the baby may not have enough mother's milk, an infection has appeared, or indigestion has happened.

Smell in diapers

In the first days after the birth of the baby, his feces do not smell. Later, it acquires a sour aroma. The stool of children who feed on breast milk has an unobtrusive smell, and with artificial mixtures it is rather unpleasant, but not sharp, not fetid.

Impurities or inclusions

in feces babies impurities may occur.

White lumps are incompletely digested breast milk or formula. Lumps, similar to cottage cheese, may be present in the stool due to overeating of the child or the high fat content of mother's milk. And they may also indicate an unformed gastrointestinal system or a lack of enzymes. In children on artificial nutrition- about inaccurately selected or incorrectly diluted mixture. The presence of a small number of whitish lumps in children's feces is considered normal, if other characteristics of the stool have not changed, and the child is gaining weight and feeling great.
Slime. Since there is mucus in the intestines, it is often observed in the feces of a child. This is because the GI tract is maturing. If colic and bloating are absent, then this can be attributed to the norm.
Undigested food leftovers. With the beginning of the introduction of complementary foods in the feces of the child, food remains can be observed. It is necessary to wait until the stomach adapts to digest dense food, this can take a week. But, if at the same time, at the time of defecation, the child is pushing hard or crying, it may be worthwhile to postpone this complementary food for a while.
Blood and pus. They should not be found in the feces of infants. When they appear, it is urgent to visit a pediatrician, as their presence may indicate diseases of the gastrointestinal system or other organs.

It must be understood that the options for the norms of characteristics baby chair there are many. And be sure to watch the contents of the diaper! But you also need to take into account general state the baby, if nothing bothers him, then even deviations from the norm can be attributed to the individuality of your crumbs.

Pathological changes in the stool and methods of treatment

In this section of the article, we will consider pathological deviations of the stool in children, and ways to treat them.

Deviations include a change in the number of bowel movements, and these are:

constipation (fecal retention);
diarrhea (diarrhea);
irregular stool.

Parents should also pay attention to any modifications of feces: volume, consistency, color, etc.

Fecal retention in children

Constipation is the absence or delay in colon cleansing, which is accompanied by difficulty during emptying. At the same time, the baby can be restless, refuse to eat, burp, and gas can accumulate in its intestines. So, how many times a day should a child poop so that he does not suffer from constipation?

Signs by which you can determine that a baby under one year old has constipation:

delay in defecation for a day or more;
the child has difficulty defecation, may cry or even scream;
unsuccessful attempts to push - the baby tries to empty the intestines, but nothing works out for him: the feces do not come out;
very hard ("sheep") stool.

There are some reasons for retaining feces at an early age, by identifying them, you can quickly navigate and help the baby.

Causes of constipation in babies:

the baby does not consume enough mother's milk;
immaturity or the presence of pathologies of the digestive system;
child feeding disorders early feeding, adapted milk formula or cow's milk is not suitable);
diseases that are concomitant in nature (these can be diseases such as rickets, diseases of the nervous system);
small exercise stress on the body of the crumbs (passivity of the baby).

How to alleviate the condition of the child with stool retention?

Is your child suffering from constipation? This is because the intestines are not functioning properly. Failures happen, and they are the cause of tears, whims and pain in children. early age.

In the fight against stool retention in infants, it is important to understand the cause of such an unpleasant phenomenon. By installing it, you can choose complex treatment for crumbs, which would include the following items:

correction of the mother's nutrition or change of the adapted mixture;
correct and timely introduction complementary foods;
walks on fresh air;
gymnastics;
massage;
introduction to the diet of water.

If constipation happened unexpectedly, and it is not permanent, then you can help the baby in the following way. Wait until the baby begins to strain, trying to poop, press the legs to the navel and hold in this position for 10 seconds, while gently pressing them to the tummy.

Stroke your belly later in a circular motion clockwise near the navel, if necessary, repeat this procedure. Put something warm on the tummy (for example, an ironed diaper) or carry it on your hands, pressing the baby’s tummy to you.

Your baby didn't poop? Then you can try to empty the intestines by stimulating anus. To do this, enter into the anus cotton swab, syringe tip or vent tube, smeared with baby oil or cream.

To speed up this process, the baby can be placed on the tummy. It should be noted that all procedures must be done very carefully and carefully so as not to cause additional pain to the crumbs.

You can also help your child with the help of children's glycerin suppositories or put a laxative microclyster. An enema for cleansing is also done at home, for this you need to take a small syringe (pre-disinfect) and boiled water of 19-22 ° C degrees.

If such troubles as constipation, frequent occurrence your baby, do not try all the time to help him poop with different methods. In this case, consult your pediatrician.

In order to prevent constipation in newborns, be sure to lay the baby on the tummy (before meals and during the day). Do a tummy massage or just stroke it clockwise. Play with him the game "Airplane": fun, active and good for digestion.

Diarrhea (diarrhea) in infants

Diarrhea is an indigestion or an increase in the frequency of bowel movements. The feces at the same time have a liquefied consistency and can be watery, frothy, and contain flakes, mucus, pus or streaks of greenery and even blood.

It is worth paying the attention of parents to the fact that it is necessary to compare the number of bowel movements not with generally accepted norms but with the number of bowel movements your child has. If your child normally pooped 4 times a day, and today he went “in a big way” - 8, carefully read the information below.

Does the child poop frequently?

Diarrhea is a frequent guest in babies of the first year of life, and parents should be prepared for such a problem. If measures are not taken in time and not treated, stool disorder can lead to dehydration of the baby's body, as well as cause intoxication.

Diarrhea may be accompanied by fever and other unpleasant symptoms(vomit, profuse regurgitation, pain, discharge unusual for children's feces: abundant mucus, greens or blood). Let's look at the most common causes of diarrhea in a child.

Diarrhea occurs without fever and other symptoms, it can be caused by:

violation of the diet (this includes the nutrition of a nursing mother, and the crumbs themselves);
dysbacteriosis (against the background of taking medications: antipyretic or antibacterial);
teething (may be accompanied by fever);
intolerance of the baby's body to certain substances (gluten, lactose or others);
unhealthy psycho-emotional state baby (stress);
moving to another climate zone.

Diarrhea occurs with fever and other pathological symptoms, calls it:

intestinal infection;
childhood infectious diseases (scarlet fever, measles, rubella);
other pathological diseases.

In this case, you must urgently contact a pediatrician or call an ambulance.

If diarrhea is accompanied by fever and other symptoms, then this is alarm signal! Prolonged diarrhea - very dangerous phenomenon. The well-being of the crumbs weakens faster, the likelihood of dehydration and intoxication of the body increases.

How to help a baby with diarrhea?

To alleviate the condition little man Here are some recommendations for nutrition and treatment of indigestion.

Compliance drinking regime. Sufficient fluid intake. If the baby is breastfed, feed on demand. In case of acute diarrhea, give boiled water to the peanut, 1 tsp each. every 5 minutes.
Diet. Correction of the diet. Control of breastfeeding, and revision of the mother's diet. With artificial feeding, calculate the amount of feeding depending on the weight of the crumbs. In the case of the introduction of complementary foods - temporarily refuse it. For older children, a strict diet: tea, potatoes, rice, crackers or bagels.
Medications (as prescribed by a doctor). Gels for teeth, antipyretics, preparations such as Smecta or Polysorb, enzymes and probiotics.

Irregular stool in baby

Irregular stools are a change from healthy bowel movements to constipation and/or diarrhea, as well as a change from constipation to diarrhea. Common reasons for this phenomenon include:

poor nutrition of the baby;
intestinal dysbiosis.

Intermittent bowel movements make it difficult to know how much a newborn should poop. And they can talk about prolonged constipation: long time no bowel movements, and after them a lot of liquid mass comes out.

With irregular bowel cleansing, it is necessary:

reconsider the nature of the diet of the crumbs (if necessary, and mom);
eliminate errors in food;
avoid overfeeding;
give food according to age.

If you have completed these steps, but did not get the result - the regularity of the stool has not improved, contact your pediatrician.

You should also call your doctor immediately if:

The baby has black feces, and you did not take iron supplements.
The presence of scarlet blood is observed in the feces.
High temperature, the child vilifies and vomits.
From anus secreted pink mucus.
The skin and eyes of the baby became yellow shade and the stool is colorless.

If something worries you in the feces of a child, even if it is an insignificant detail, it is better to check with the pediatrician in order to sleep more peacefully.

Parents are very worried about the health of the crumbs up to a year, because the baby is so defenseless and prone to various diseases. His organs are still immature and do not work like adults. It is important to recognize problems as early as possible so as not to harm the child's body.

Until the moment of birth, the blood circulation in children is arranged differently, and the intestines are generally sterile. After the birth, the child's body begins to work like an adult, which at this stage is difficult and unusual for him.

The baby cannot say or clearly express his discomfort and cries a lot in the first three months. The color of the feces in a newborn is an objective factor by which parents can judge the state of health of the baby.

Bowel function in the first months of life

children's organ performs standard functions - participates in the digestion of food, promotes the absorption of nutrients into the blood and removes unnecessary products. You can evaluate the quality of his work by the parameters of feces - consistency, color, smell, presence of inclusions. In addition, the functioning of some other organs and systems is judged by changes in secretions.

Metabolic products begin to accumulate even in the womb, and exit after childbirth, so the first feces of the baby looks non-standard. Intestinal sterility and weak enzymatic function lead to the fact that after meconium the stools do not have pungent odor, and their color is expressed in a grayish tint.

As beneficial bacteria colonize and digestion improves, the feces acquire a pronounced unpleasant odor and turn yellow-brown. The relationship between the work of the gastrointestinal tract and the nature of the discharge is obvious and allows you to assess the health, as well as the needs of the newborn.

The frequency of bowel movements in infants occurs up to 12 times, regardless of the type of feeding. This allows parents to notice the problem in time if it occurs. At the same time, young mothers should adhere to the “golden mean”, that is, understand in which cases it is worth worrying about, and when there is no danger.

And for this you need basic concepts about what feces look like in a newborn is normal. Doctors believe that this concept is relative and it is impossible to compare all babies according to the same parameters. The rate or number of bowel movements and their appearance differ depending on the type of feeding of the child.

Are you feeding your baby properly? In this video, Dr. Komarovsky will talk about best mode baby feeding:

What does the color say

Normal chair:

Black-green. This is what meconium looks like, which appears in the first day of a baby's life.
Yellow-green, marsh. After the previous form, this color indicates the beginning of the enzymatic system and the digestion of mother's milk. The sour smell of bowel movements is also considered a variant of the norm. The main thing at this time is that the baby gains weight.
Yellow. Such a chair is formed after the previous transition period and is the result correct operation gastrointestinal tract and liver.

In older children who eat complementary foods, changes in the color of the stool occur depending on the food eaten. Orange causes carrots, burgundy - beets, and dark - prunes.

Pathological stool- green!

Often indicates malnutrition of the child, which occurs due to lack of milk, physiological characteristics nipples or a plant-based diet of the mother.

The reason may also be inflammatory process in the intestinal mucosa, which does not allow the body to function normally and impairs the digestion of food. This happens with dysbacteriosis or as a result of pathologies during pregnancy.

If green color caused by the presence of bilirubin, then this is considered normal until 9 months of age, so it is important to contact a pediatrician who will determine the cause of the changes.

Pronounced greenery in an artificial child is caused by acquaintance with new mixture.

Small areas with a red tint are due to the appearance of blood particles, which is considered dangerous state. The cause is an infection, constipation, or an allergy to milk protein.
Bright yellow or orange. If the color of the feces is not caused by complementary foods or the mother's diet, then it indicates problems with the liver.

Usually, pathological conditions fecal masses are accompanied by the appearance of such symptoms:

Elevated temperature.
Abdominal pain.
Vomit.
Diarrhea.

If only the shade of stool is alarming, there is little cause for concern.

Video about breastfeeding a baby:

Color of feces while breastfeeding

The stool of infants who feed on mother's milk differs in the following parameters:

It may be absent on some day due to the good digestibility of mother's milk.
The chair has a light sand shade which mothers often confuse with diarrhea.
The stools are shapeless, liquid and heterogeneous.
The color of the feces depends on the mother's diet and changes after each feeding.

Additional inclusions

Particles in the stool tell the doctor what digestive system difficult to handle, and what failures are in her work.

Often in the feces there are white grains, which are undigested lumps of cottage cheese. Such inclusions are formed when the child overeats or due to enzymatic deficiency. The first reason is easy to eliminate, but in the second case, an examination of a sick child and additional tests will be required.

If there are too watery areas with foam in the feces, such changes are caused by lactase deficiency. To the characteristic clinical picture gives several pathological processes that occur in the intestine and do not cause difficulties in medical diagnosis. Often, such a deviation is temporary and disappears on its own closer to one year of age.

Sometimes undigested food is found on the diaper. More often, this condition is caused by new complementary foods and normalizes after a few days. If this does not happen, the introduction of unusual food is postponed, perhaps the baby's body is not yet ready for it.

Black dots in stool are usually bloody patches. in a chair healthy child they are missing and similar symptom requires urgent consultation with a pediatrician. If at the same time the discharge has a bright green color, a dangerous intestinal infection can be assumed.

Slime, even in in large numbers, doctors consider the norm. However, there should be no other warning signs.

Consistency

The stool with artificial feeding is denser than with natural feeding. However, the comparison should not be made with generally accepted norms, but with other bowel movements of your child. If the feces were shapeless, and then, without changing the diet, began to come out in dense pieces, the mother should be wary. The cause may be her own diet, an intestinal infection, lack of fluids, or other factors.

Hard feces in the form of a pebble cause discomfort to the child and can injure the intestinal mucosa.

At the period of formation of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract, the nature of the feces changes. Why it happens and what it looks and smells like normal stool newborn, the pediatrician should tell the parents. Dangerous situations, as a rule, have mixed symptoms, and also cause constant anxiety of the child. The key to the rapid maturation of enzymatic systems and the proper functioning of the intestines is mother's milk.

And how does it change from month to month? Some facts and figures will help to find out about this, as well as ...

2. Weight and height of the baby.

The average increase in the 4th month of a child's life is about 750 g (from the moment of birth, the average increase is about 3 kg). Do not panic if the baby began to weigh a little less. The allowable minimum weight gain for a child of this age is 500 g. It is this criterion that is used to assess the adequacy of a baby receiving breast milk. If the child is exclusively breastfed, then an increase of less than 500 g per month will indicate the need to change the feeding regimen (in favor of more frequent or longer breastfeeding), the introduction (sometimes as a temporary measure) of supplementary feeding in the form of what can be done only on the recommendation of a pediatrician.

The approximate increase in growth for the fourth month of a baby's life is 2-2.5 cm, from the moment of birth, the baby has already grown by 11-12 cm.

3. Walk time.

As well as for the earlier age, summer walks for a 4-month-old child, they can be long; in warm summer days mother and baby can spend most of the day outdoors. In the cold season, the restriction for going outside may be low temperature air (below -15°C), a sharp cold wind, even in combination with warm weather. In the rain or too strong wind An alternative to staying outside can be a child's sleep on a closed balcony or veranda.