The birth of the first child is a great happiness for young parents, but along with joy, problems also come: peace and rest are forgotten. The child needs to be bathed, taken for a walk, carefully monitor the behavior, physical condition of the baby during the day. One of the most important problems for parents is the stool of a newborn baby.
Frequency of stool while breastfeeding
First of all, parents want to make sure that the child is pooping the right number of times a day, and the color of the chair is normal. The norm in this case is absolutely arbitrary, since each child has an individual organism, a certain pattern of food intake.
Babies aged 1-2 months poop quite often. The total amount of stool should be at least 7 times a day. Talking about what should be the stool of a newborn when breastfeeding, you can only know the nature of the diet of the mother. The physical and psychological state of a nursing mother also affects the proper digestion of food by the child.
Newborn stool in the first days of life
Bowel activity is traced from the first day of the baby's life. It even takes into account how much the chair should have (in what quantity) the baby has.
On the first day of life, the baby's chair should be black. The mass with which the baby defecates for the first time after birth is called meconium (has a consistency and tar color). The next 5-6 times the stool may be the same color. On the first day, the baby can poop about 10 times, which depends on the number of feedings.
From the second to the fifth day, the baby may not have a chair. Only insignificant discharge of meconium accumulated in the intestine is possible. Until all the original feces come out, the normal stool in the child does not appear. These days, the baby does not poke more than two times.
During the second week, intestinal function is gradually restored. At first there are unsystematic bowel movements, but more frequent than in the first days after birth. When breastfeeding, the stool of a newborn is determined by the individual characteristics of the body of the child, who is starting to get used to mother's milk. During this period, the composition of milk is not fully formed, lactation is in a state of development, therefore, the baby's feces may still be abnormal.
Consistency and color of the chair
Mother's milk has the ability to weaken stool. In the period from three to six weeks, the baby may have a violation of the intestines, an increase in stool up to 8 times. Many parents panic. But there is no reason for concern.
In the first month of birth, the baby has abnormal food. He can ask for breasts 8-10 times a day. The same number of times a child should have a chair. It is usually thin, yellowish, and sometimes gray-green (depending on the nutrition of a nursing mother). There is also no need to sound the alarm when you see the color on the used diaper is greener than usual. If the baby is calm, the tummy is soft, these are more likely consequences of the mother’s nutrition.
Small problems arise if the child has green foamy feces. This means that he receives facial (front) milk that does not contain the right amount of fat, nutrients. Often the number of bowel movements does not exceed 2-3 times, constipation begins, the child is tormented by gases. A nursing mother should strictly monitor her diet, in particular, switch to a diet specially developed during lactation.
Main causes of concern
There are times when a two-month-old baby does not poop 2, 3, or even 5 days, but he does not express complaints, active in the game, calm in a dream. This happens when the gastrointestinal tract reacts to milk recovery, producing new enzymes.
The process can last 2-3 weeks, and during this period, the child either eats milk actively or reluctantly takes the breast. This does not mean that the baby is unwell, he has only a phase of adaptation. Mom, observing the behavior of the child, studying the schedule, first of all pays attention to how her newborn should have stool after breastfeeding. One of the reasons for concern is the green color of feces with foam.
Two types of milk are formed in the mammary glands: anterior and posterior. Front (facial) milk is practically not saturated with fat, more liquid, contains a lot of water and carbohydrates. A child, eating it, takes it like a cup of tea. It is after feeding the front milk of the newborn with a green stool of a fluidish consistency with a characteristic foam.
Back milk is rich in fats, proteins, and is thick. It helps to increase the weight of the baby. The chair after feeding with such milk is pasty, yellow-gray in color. Anxiety is caused by constipation and colic in a baby. If after adapting the body to mother’s milk, the newborn still poaches with great difficulty, and there is no stool for several days, you need to revise the mother’s menu, add elements with a laxative effect to the food.
Diarrhea while breastfeeding
In newborn babies feeding on breast milk, very often stools are quite liquid. Taking into account the calm state of the baby, his good mood, you can be sure that the cause of a weak tummy is the elements contained in breast milk. We must not forget that children under one year old have an imperfect digestive system. Their intestines respond even to the weakest negative internal and external circumstances. One of the causes of loose stool in newborns is dysbiosis (a violation of the intestinal microflora). In addition to rashes on the face, the baby begins diarrhea. The following factors can often be the cause of diarrhea:
- Bacteria.
- Viral diseases.
- Fungal diseases.
Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract in infants are often associated with a viral disease of a nursing mother. Together with breast milk, it transfers bacteria to the baby. During the period of the illness, the mother is not recommended to apply the baby to the chest. Having noticed the symptoms of dysbiosis or other viral diseases, you should immediately contact a pediatrician.
The effect of the diet of a nursing mother on a baby’s stool
Of great importance in the proper functioning of the intestines of the baby is the nutrition of the mother. Another factor affecting the stool of a newborn baby is the incorrect eating of a nursing mother. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the diet, but also through mother's milk to familiarize the baby with a variety of foods.
In the mother’s diet, it is necessary to gradually include new products, while carefully monitoring the frequency of the baby’s stool, paying attention to the consistency and color. Many parents are inclined to believe that dairy products should be excluded from the diet. In fact, they are needed for a breast-feeding baby, but mom should eat them in limited quantities.
A small amount of dairy products that penetrate the baby through breast milk, contributes to easy bowel movements. From dairy products, the stool of the newborn should be yellowish, of a weak consistency, with a slightly sour smell.
Danger of constipation
Delayed stool in newborns from 2 to 4 days or very hard stool with small balls is constipation. In children, constipation usually occurs due to an accumulation of gases. Bloating is noted, respectively, colic begins. Constipation is not particularly dangerous (except for intestinal diseases, which also cause constipation), but the baby feels uncomfortable, refuses to eat, becomes lethargic, weak.
Constipation is not only due to dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. From the feces, the reverse absorption of toxins begins, which causes constipation. Lack of stool for several days mainly affects babies who take artificial nutrition, since the intestines of artificially children do not immediately adapt to complementary foods.
Constipation and its prevention
There is the concept of "starvation constipation" when an infant eats only breast milk without taking complementary foods. In this case, he assimilates everything eaten, the intestines can not allocate anything. This suggests that the baby is malnourished. Such constipation is not dangerous. The first reason for constipation is the irregular and improper nutrition of a nursing mother. She should eat fruits and vegetables that do not cause gas, eat only boiled foods (fried is strictly prohibited), drink plenty of fluids. One of the factors causing constipation is the lack of water in the child's body.
A rare stool with artificial nutrition also happens when the baby’s feeding is often changed. It is necessary to try to regularly feed the baby with the same mixture in the first 2 months. It is recommended to use baby food containing prunes, dried apricots on an oat basis.
The main causes of stool retention
It is difficult to specifically determine how many times a newborn should have stools, since each child has an individual organism, the intestines function differently. An important role is also played by the baby’s nutritional form: breast milk or artificial nutrition. With constipation, the baby does not go out in a big way for several days. The reasons for the delay in the chair can be very different:
- Lack of iron in the body.
- Decreased intestinal motility (dysbiosis).
- Fluid deficiency in the body.
- Allergy from food intake (mainly from artisans).
- The inactivity of the baby.
- Frequent use of an enema.
- Overuse of laxatives.
Teething chair
Adults can’t even imagine what newborns undergo when their teeth begin to cut. Firstly, it is very painful, and secondly, it is painful for a weak child's body.
The process of the appearance of teeth takes away a lot of energy from the baby. During teething, the child's immunity weakens, which means that the baby is susceptible to various infections, viral diseases. The functions of the gastrointestinal tract are also impaired. It is usually during this period that diarrhea begins in infants.
It is necessary to strictly monitor the stool and be sure to determine how many times the stool in a newborn happens during teething. It is very important to take into account the fact that during this period with diarrhea, the smell of feces practically does not change. A distinctive feature is only a frequent bowel movement (6-8 times) during the day, and the color becomes yellow-brown, and the consistency is liquid.
Duration of teething diarrhea
When teeth are cut, the duration of diarrhea cannot be accurately predicted, because babies have different organisms and physiology. Presumably it should last no more than 4 days. If the cause of diarrhea is only the teeth, the child should not be bothered by stomach pains.
If the baby is feeling bad, feces have an unusual smell, measures must be taken. In this case, there may be an infection that the child is able to catch during teething. It is recommended to strictly monitor the frequency, color, smell of the stool. If these symptoms are absent, diarrhea quickly stops without consequences.
Baby food for diarrhea
If the stool in newborn babies is liquid during the period of the appearance of the teeth, it is necessary to temporarily change the nutrition. Exclude fat-containing foods, dairy products from the diet. It is imperative to give the baby as much fluid as possible, since during the period of diarrhea the child’s body is very dehydrated. Most importantly, you need to monitor every day how many times the newborn has shaken and what kind of stool he has.
Mixed Feeding Baby Stool
With insufficient breast milk, mothers have to give complementary foods. After breastfeeding, the baby takes a small amount of the mixture, which undoubtedly affects the functioning of the intestines and how much stool the newborn should have.
With mixed feeding in babies, the number of bowel movements during the day is reduced. Because, no matter how high-quality the mixture, it will still be far from the composition of mother's milk. In addition, the consistency of feces differs from the stool in newborns during breastfeeding. Moreover, color and smell change.
We must not forget that feeding can lead to disruption of the microflora in the intestines, so you need to carefully choose artificial nutrition, and it is better to consult a pediatrician.
Parents note
The health of a newborn baby is the most important thing for parents. First of all, the attention of dads and mothers focuses on nutrition, sleep, on what kind of chair the child has, but it is most important to monitor the behavior of the baby. If he is active, cheerful, mobile, then nothing bothers him. Do not sound the alarm.