Newborn

Newborn feces: real images of how they can vary depending on the situation

Feces can have very different characteristics according to the type of diet of the child, according to the type of diet of the mother, according to the intestinal bacterial flora.

The feces of breastfed babies

Mothers of breastfed babies can confirm and see that their babies’ feces are bright yellow , with small white dots, always very soft despite the non-daily evacuation. Yellow poop is therefore a very normal thing in newborns.

The feces of bottle-fed babies

In infants bottle-fed with formula, the stool takes on a darker colon, from greenish to brown, until it takes on a definitive brown color when solids begin to be taken after 6 months.

Variations

Variations of these colors in most cases have no pathological meanings and shouldn’t worry mothers.

The poop of an infant fed exclusively at the breast will never be constipated and will always make loose stools. Instead, in the child who introduces solid foods after 6 months, attention must be paid only if it is a chronic and constant problem.
Now step by step we are going to see the various colors of stool and its meanings:

Green colored stools

If consistency and number of discharges is the usual then everything is normal. In infants, if green poop is associated with diarrhea, it may be acute gastroenteritis . In already weaned children it is possible that this coloring is due to its diet such as spinach.

The pathological causes can be:

  • Intolerance or allergy
  • intestinal infection

Non-pathological ones:

  • Weaning
  • Maternal diet rich in dairy products
  • Maternal diet rich in chlorophyll
  • The mother takes too many iron supplements
  • Teething

Newborn feces: real pictures

Feces with food residues

Children after one year of age can have stools of this type and it often happens if they eat peas, carrots and the consistency can be soft and with a little mucus. This happens because children, unlike adults, have accelerated intestinal transit and the bacteria that are supposed to “digest” the fibers do not have time to do their job and are therefore passed out with the feces in pieces. We don’t need to intervene because it’s all physiological.

White or almost white stools

It is common in the first days of life and signals that there may be a problem with the bile ducts. Your baby may have jaundice (yellowish discoloration of the skin). Contact your pediatrician.

Stools black or tending towards black

It is possible to have black poop due to an excessive intake of iron, if the child has eaten a lot of vegetables.

If, on the other hand, the coloring is completely black, then have the child seen by the pediatrician because it could be ingested blood.

Black stools of the very first days

These are stools called meconium and are characteristic of the very first days of life when the newborn is still feeding on colostrum.

After the transition from colostrum to milk, the baby’s feces gradually turn mustard-colored.

Mucus/foamy stools

It is normal for mucus to be present in the child’s colon and it can appear with the faeces or it can happen that following nasal washings, this is ingested and then emitted together with the faeces.

Stools streaked with blood

Have the child checked by the pediatrician to highlight whether there are small fissures or excoriations of the anus mucosa . It can happen when the stools are hard, so if the baby is formula fed or introduces usual food, he is constipated.

To avoid this , you can use creams that help the tissue to heal to help the child with food to soften the stools and to soothe the discomfort.

If, on the other hand, neither the mother nor the pediatrician sees fissures or cuts, then it is possible that it is a colitis due to an allergy to cow’s milk protein which inflames the colon. This happens for both breastfed and bottle-fed or weaned babies.

The child who introduces solid foods needs to eliminate dairy products from his diet, while those fed with artificial foods have specific formulas available on the market.

Be careful when you see red poop because maybe the baby ate red beets, tomato, strawberries, so it’s all normal.

Switching from breast milk to formula milk and constipation

I reassure mothers who are “scared” by the really unpleasant smell of their baby’s feces when they have to switch from breast milk to formula milk, in fact usually, in this case the feces have a stronger smell similar to that of adults.

The frequency also decreases and as we have already said the color changes from ocher to being darker. Cases of constipation are frequent and it is possible to intervene with containment in the band and massage at each diaper change.

I hope I clarified a little bit this huge baby poop problem ;).

Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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