When it comes to stooling, it varies from babies to babies depending on the age, type of feeds, medications and other factors that will be discussed in this article
After delivery, baby’s first stool will be dark, thick and sticky, this stool is called meconium and it should be passed within the first 24 hours after delivery and less commonly within the first 48 hours. From the second day of life, baby stool will become lighter in colour and less sticky. The stool will start appearing watery, seed-like and yellowish-green in colour.
As baby grows, the texture, the number of times they stool in a day and the colour will keep changing. Some babies can stool as often as after every feed while it may take some days for some babies to poop
Generally, babies can go several days even up to a week without stooling and this is normal because the body uses up virtually all the breast milk that little or nothing is left to form stool
Stools in breastfed babies can be quite runny while in formula fed babies the stool is usually firmer
Most babies are not constipated especially if the stool eventually comes out soft. It is normal for babies to grunt or even cry when passing stool, it doesn’t mean they are constipated. As they grow and become used to the art of stooling all of these will subside
However, one factor every parent should know about is their child’s stooling pattern. Knowing your baby’s stooling pattern is a very important factor. For instance, if your baby usually stay for some days without passing stool which is normal for your baby and suddenly your baby is passing stool up to three times in just one day, it’s a sign that something could be wrong. This change in stool pattern could be due to a new brand of formula that was recently introduced, other feeds or solids you might be offering, medications or onset of an illness
As for the stool colour, as babies grow the stool colour tend to change as mentioned earlier but there are some stool colours parents shouldn’t ignore whenever they notice it. Whenever you notice a white or grey stool, it’s a sign that there may be a problem and seeking medical attention is advised.
Red stool can result from ingestion of red food substances but if no red food substance was offered to baby, see a doctor. Black stools in babies that are older than a week shouldn’t be ignored, also see a doctor
It’s important parents pay attention to their baby’s stool as this can serve as a window into the wellbeing of babies or the onset of an illness
Watch video ( Stooling in babies)
