How and how much a newborn should poop, or everything about infant stool. Newborn baby strains Why does a newborn poop often

04.10.202327.05.2017

Most people have bowel movements once or twice a day. The frequency of once every couple of days is also not considered a deviation.

Few people manage to avoid disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract - constipation or diarrhea. The cause is isolated pathologies or serious diseases.

What if immediately after eating you need to run to the toilet in a big way?

Of course, this introduces certain complications into life, but is it a warning sign? Only a doctor can answer.

Reasons for visiting the toilet after eating

A person who knows that after lunch or dinner he will need to look for a toilet does not feel free. He can’t stay at home all the time, where the bathroom is located a few steps away?

The reasons for this condition are varied. First of all, frequent urge to go to the toilet after eating can be explained by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is characterized by a complex of functional disorders of food digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, there is no organic damage to the intestine itself.

IBS occurs in people between 25 and 45 years of age, and is more common in women. In addition to constant trips to the toilet after eating, you also have to endure the following symptoms:

discomfort and pain are felt in the lower abdomen;
the stool becomes foul-smelling and liquid. It contains a lot of mucus;
increased gas formation and flatulence.

New Year's video recipe:

In addition to IBS, the cause of the urge to defecate after eating can be:

Thyrotoxicosis(hyperthyroidism) – increased hormonal activity of the thyroid gland.
Acute and chronic colitis, occurring in the area of the large intestinal mucosa.
Crohn's disease– gastrointestinal pathology of unknown etiology. It occurs in a chronic form and can affect all parts of the digestive system. The disease is a type of inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract.
Polyposis– single or multiple polyps appear on the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines – benign formations. The disease is more common in men. Polyps must be promptly removed so that they do not become malignant.
Colorectal cancer. This disease refers to a malignant tumor of the rectum (rectum) or large intestine (colon).
Intestinal dysbiosis– clinical and laboratory syndrome, the appearance of which is caused by pathological changes in the structure of the intestinal microflora. This applies to both its qualitative and quantitative composition.
Intestinal tuberculosis– a chronic infectious disease that occurs under the influence of mycobacteria. They affect the intestinal wall and contribute to the formation of specific granulomas that destroy the digestive organs.
Worm infestation– entry into the body of various types of worms. Products and the results of their vital activity have a destructive effect on internal organs and impair the functioning of the digestive system.

The reason for visiting the toilet after eating may be insufficient production of bile in the body. In this case, the feces become greasy and shiny, lose color and become almost colorless. Frequent bowel movements lead to bleeding of the anus. In a short time, a person’s quality of vision noticeably decreases, and bone tissue becomes fragile and brittle. A set of such symptoms signals possible pathologies of the biliary tract, liver or duodenum.

It is possible that the reason for the urge to go to the toilet is not physiological. They should be looked for in changes in psychological state. Neuroses and increased stress can upset the usual functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

How to get rid of the problem?

Illnesses force me to visit the toilet several times a day. Most often, a person's stool is sparse. Its external signs change. This refers to the color, smell and consistency of stool. It’s really bad when clots or specks of blood appear in them.

You need to respond immediately to obvious signs of illness. A visit to a gastroenterologist becomes urgent. To make a correct diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe tests and studies:

blood, urine and stool tests;
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity;
colonoscopy - examination of the intestines;
fibrogastroscopy – study of the condition of the stomach, esophagus and duodenum;
rectoscopy - examination of the rectum.

If you suspect an intestinal infection, it is possible that you will need to undergo hospital treatment.

If blood, stool and urine tests are normal, and ultrasound results do not indicate the presence of serious problems, you can do without a more detailed examination. Minor drug therapy will bring the condition back to normal. Of course, the doctor will definitely introduce you to the basic recommendations regarding the daily menu.

Traditional medicine as a help

When visits to the toilet after eating do not stop, diarrhea continues for a long time - dehydration of the body occurs and the removal of useful substances, without which normal activity is impossible.

In addition to drug treatment, the following methods can be used:

Prepare a strong infusion of oak bark. You should pour a glass of boiling water over a tablespoon of dry raw materials. The bark is infused for about an hour. Then you need to strain the drink and take one (two) teaspoons throughout the day. This amount of infusion is enough for one day. The next day you need to prepare fresh.
Make a tincture with alcohol. Grind a teaspoon of oak bark thoroughly and pour in 0.4 vodka. You need to prepare the tincture in advance, since it will take a week for the bark to be properly saturated with alcohol. In the morning and evening you should take 20 drops of the finished product. Oak bark is an excellent astringent, so it effectively helps with gastrointestinal problems and hemorrhoidal bleeding. The infusion can stop the constant urge to visit the toilet after eating.
Infusion of Canadian small petal. It is necessary to pour a teaspoon of this dried and crushed herb into a saucepan. Pour in 0.25 liters of boiling water, cover and leave for 20 minutes. Then strain the product. Drink one cup of infusion after each meal.
Extreme recipe: dissolve a teaspoon of salt in 100 grams of vodka. The product should be taken immediately after meals.

Strong black tea, a decoction of acorns and an alcoholic tincture of green nuts have strengthening properties.

Functional diarrhea, that is, diarrhea after each meal, is a common phenomenon and causes many serious inconveniences for patients. However, people often refuse to go to the doctor with such an unpleasant problem, hoping that it will disappear on its own, or trying to alleviate their condition by taking medications.

There can be many reasons for this condition, and only a doctor can accurately determine the cause of the disease and prescribe appropriate treatment. Diarrhea is far from a harmless phenomenon, so you should not refuse professional treatment.

The main causes of diarrhea after eating

If frequent loose stools are observed immediately after eating, this indicates functional disorders in the intestines: the food bolus quickly moves through the gastrointestinal tract, while the food is not properly digested and absorbed.

There may be several reasons for this condition:

Disorders of the nervous system. This condition is known as “bear sickness” or irritable bowel syndrome. The patient may encounter it during a period of prolonged stress; for example, the syndrome may occur in students during a session. Neurogenic diarrhea is usually only part of a complex of symptoms; prolonged stress can lead to vegetative-vascular dystonia and various neuroses.
Infectious intestinal lesions. This is a more drastic, but possible reason: the body seeks to empty the intestines of food that it considers dangerous. To eliminate a painful condition, it is necessary to cope with its cause using medicinal methods.
Dysbacteriosis. This is a disorder of the intestinal microflora, which can develop after long-term use of antibiotics or a violation of the diet. If the body is unable to digest food, it tends to get rid of it, which can lead to diarrhea.

Intestinal upset can also result from eating unusual or spoiled food. In this case, it lasts no more than 1-2 days, and if the process does not stop, you should consult a doctor.

Diarrhea not only brings discomfort and interferes with everyday life: frequent loose stools lead to dehydration and the leaching of essential microelements such as magnesium and potassium. It is especially dangerous for children, so young patients need to be taken to a doctor as quickly as possible.

Diagnostic methods

How to determine when it's time to see a specialist? First of all, you need to pay attention to the nature of the disease. If there is no pus or blood in the stool, this indicates the absence of serious intestinal damage.

If it has a greasy appearance and a strong unpleasant odor, this is a sign of the presence of fat in the stool, that is, the digestion of food is not completed. The doctor will ask the patient in detail about the frequency of bowel movements, the appearance of urges at night, and the diet.

Signs of infection will include fever, bloating, nausea, and deterioration in general health. If an intestinal infection is suspected, the doctor may suggest hospital treatment to prevent infection of others.

A series of tests will be prescribed to confirm or deny the presence of infection. Much more often, the cause of constant diarrhea is a nervous disorder, thus the body reacts to prolonged overexertion.

In this case, the urge is observed in the morning immediately after breakfast and during the day after meals, and at night the patient sleeps peacefully, without feeling any discomfort. Blood and stool tests do not reveal any signs of infection or other bowel problems.

The most effective treatment method in this case will be to eliminate the cause of stress: as soon as the state of the nervous system normalizes, all somatic manifestations of nervous disorders will go away by themselves.

However, the diagnosis of “neurogenic diarrhea” can be made only after all studies confirming the absence of dysbacteriosis and infectious diseases. It is quite difficult to diagnose this condition in children: they are often embarrassed to talk about the problem, and problems with studying or communicating with peers can lead to severe manifestations of a nervous disorder.

Traditional and medicinal methods of treating functional diarrhea

What to do if an unpleasant condition takes you by surprise, and the problem has to be solved immediately? There are a number of folk remedies that will help eliminate symptoms of diarrhea and have a beneficial effect on intestinal health:

A decoction of oak bark can be used for treatment. It is brewed with boiling water; you can take a glass of the decoction immediately after eating. You can use it twice a day, for example, morning and evening. Usually, a few doses are enough to cope with intestinal dysfunction.
A simple recipe against diarrhea: regular buckwheat porridge without salt. You need to eat a few spoons of porridge on an empty stomach, and there will be no further problems with diarrhea.
The following remedy can be used against diarrhea in children: you need to grind one nutmeg, then the resulting powder is dissolved in a glass of milk. The mixture should be given one teaspoon at a time and should be taken every 4 hours.
Strong tea, acorn decoction and some other folk remedies also have strengthening properties. Among them is an extreme recipe: a teaspoon of salt is dissolved in 100 g of vodka. The product should be taken immediately after meals.

If possible, you should first consult a doctor: diarrhea is one of the body’s defense reactions, and with its help the intestines are cleansed of toxic substances. If this process is interfered with, serious intoxication is possible: the cause of diarrhea may be infection or poisoning.

If an intestinal disorder occurs for the first time, it is recommended not to interfere with the cleansing process by providing the patient with warm, generous fluids to prevent dehydration. Taking activated carbon will help, in addition, therapeutic fasting is necessary.

Since the food is not digested properly anyway, eating it repeatedly is like throwing coal into a firebox. Fasting with plenty of fluids is recommended for about 24 hours. If diarrhea is constantly observed at approximately the same time, the patient is not bothered by night urges, but they occur immediately after meals, most likely we are talking about a neurological disorder, and it is advisable to eliminate its cause as quickly as possible.

During periods of stress, the doctor may prescribe sedatives, and in case of prolonged neuroses and severe stress, antidepressants. Diarrhea in this case is only one of the manifestations of the disease, and complex treatment of the nervous system will be required.

You will learn how to treat diarrhea from the video:

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A young new mother treats her baby with special trepidation and even some fear. After all, she knows and can’t do almost anything, and caring for a newborn raises a lot of questions and worries in her. Many mothers are faced with a problem when their baby strains and turns red, and may also grunt or growl. As a rule, such a sight does not inspire optimism in them.

It is very good and correct that you pay attention to such manifestations. But just don’t rush to do anything: it is likely that everything is fine with the baby, and your actions can only harm him. Why does a newborn strain, and what to do in this case? Let's try to figure it out.

Don't rush to treat

The fact that a newborn baby is pushing does not mean anything bad. Almost all (or very many) babies do this up to 3-4 months and even longer, and doctors explain this behavior in different ways.

The most common version: the baby cannot go to the toilet any other way, because his abdominal muscles have not yet developed, as well as the anal muscle. Despite the fact that the baby blushes and makes sounds that frighten you, he may feel quite comfortable. Just to poop or even pee, he has to strain a little. In addition, the newborn is always in a horizontal position, and even gravity cannot help him in this matter. And on top of that, soft, pasty stools do not put enough pressure on the anus for bowel movements to occur easily and naturally.

Some experts believe that straining and grunting are associated with imperfect functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. While the intestines are populated by bacteria, forming their own microflora, and while they are learning to digest food, the baby experiences new, incomprehensible feelings, as if getting used to the natural processes taking place.

It’s not surprising that the child blushes at the same time - don’t worry. If you want to help your baby in some way, then press his legs to his tummy or make him a bicycle to activate the intestines and facilitate the passage of feces.

Pediatricians also advise putting the baby to the breast: perhaps he is worried about something or experiencing some kind of discomfort. The fetal position will help calm your baby: curl him up and hold him close to you. Doctors suggest that by pushing, the baby expresses his dissatisfaction. Perhaps he doesn't like something or something is bothering him. Just try to find out the cause of the disturbance and eliminate it (feed, change clothes, go for a walk). By the way, there is also an opinion that newborns express any emotions in this way, since they still don’t know how to do it any other way. This is a kind of baby’s first language: he is trying to convey something to you - and he strains, and maybe even grunts.

If nothing else bothers you other than straining, then most likely there is no reason to worry. The main thing is that the baby feels good: sleeps peacefully, eats enough, and has bowel movements regularly. However, it is likely that the newborn is straining due to problems with the digestive system. In this case, the child behaves quite restlessly: cries, rushes about, presses his knees to his tummy, kicks his legs.

When should a child be helped?

Intestinal colic forces a newborn to push and at the same time freak out and cry. Almost all new parents face this problem. Do not rush to treat your baby even with such harmless means as you think, like dill water. First, adjust your diet. Eliminate salt, sugar, flour, legumes, cabbage, cucumbers, sweet peppers, radishes, grapes and other foods that cause gas from your diet.

If the baby is artificial, then it is extremely important to choose the right milk formula (perhaps it is because of it that the baby is swelling). Formula-fed babies need to be supplemented with water.

Make sure that your baby does not swallow air during feeding by positioning him correctly at the breast and holding the formula bottle correctly.

Analyze all the latest changes and prescriptions - yours and your children's - and try to find the reason for the formation of gases in the child. For example, mothers of some children note that colic and straining appeared in their children after the administration of vitamin D3.

To stimulate the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and in order to release swallowed air, place the baby on his tummy as often as possible between or before feedings, and then lift and carry him in a “column”, in an upright position. Massage the abdomen, stroking it clockwise with your palm, tuck your legs, lightly pressing them on the stomach.

Local heat will help relieve spasms: press your baby close to your stomach or place a heated diaper on his tummy.

And only if all these methods have been tried, but have not yielded results, seek the help of medications and remedies, after consulting with a doctor (most often in such cases, children are prescribed Espumisan).

Constipation or malnutrition?

It's a little worse if the baby develops constipation. Naturally, the baby will push, making considerable efforts to poop. Do not allow this to happen, but if constipation cannot be avoided, then immediately adjust the feeding and principles of caring for the newborn.

If the baby is breastfed, the regularity and consistency of stool will largely depend on the mother's diet. Therefore, often it is enough just to change your menu - and the child will stop pushing to poop. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and introduce fresh kefir into your diet.

The situation is different with artificial ones. It is not uncommon for children to have bowel movements in response to formula milk. Finding the right mixture can be very difficult, and it may be impossible to do without the help of specialists.

In addition, unfortunately, our care and guardianship can result in a number of problems for the baby. If you panic several times ahead of time and give a gas tube or a cleansing enema to the child unnecessarily, soon the baby simply will not be able to fart and poop on his own. You should be extremely careful with this and think three times before resorting to such methods.

In fact, babies very rarely experience constipation. Mother’s milk best suits the abilities of the newborn’s digestive system, so “milk” babies, as a rule, do not have problems with bowel movements - they walk “largely” much more often than artificial babies. Infants who are bottle-fed are more susceptible to constipation.

If a newborn suffers from constipation, then during bowel movements he strains a lot, blushes and growls, and may even cry or be capricious - trying to poop brings some discomfort and even pain to the baby.

But keep in mind that we are talking about constipation only in the case when the baby does not walk “at large” for more than 2 days and he certainly has hard stools (like pebbles). If the baby poops infrequently, but the stool has the usual consistency - soft, mushy, and at the same time the baby is underweight, then most likely we are talking about the so-called “hunger constipation”. This occurs when a newborn does not receive enough milk. A situation arises when he simply has nothing to defecate due to constant malnutrition. In this case, it is necessary to supplement the baby’s feeding, pediatricians assure.

Summing up, I would like to once again appeal to young mothers: do not rush to treat your children. Sometimes medications do more harm than good. And tummy problems that cause the baby to strain and blush can almost always be solved without medications. Moreover, many pediatricians consider this phenomenon to be normal in newborns. The baby can push until he starts receiving solid food (by the way, from now on it is important that there is enough dietary fiber in the children's menu). The main thing is that nothing bothers him.

A child’s stool is one of the most important indicators of health. Already in the maternity hospital, during the rounds, doctors always ask mothers whether the baby has pooped. How and how much the child poops will be of interest to local pediatricians and nurses in the future - during home visits and during examinations in the clinic. In this article, we will consider everything about the stool of infants, since this is an extremely important component of the life of young children, and we will consider not only the stool of children who are breastfed, but also those who receive artificial nutrition.

Why is it so important to pay attention to how your baby poops? The frequency of bowel movements and the main characteristics of stool (quantity, color, presence/absence of impurities, consistency, smell) make it possible to assess, first of all, the functioning of the child’s gastrointestinal tract. In addition, they can be used to draw conclusions about the baby’s nutrition (including whether he has enough breast milk); changes in stool characteristics may indicate the presence of diseases in other organs and systems. Of no small importance is the fact that defecation in children occurs regularly (usually daily), most of the properties of feces can be easily assessed visually (during examination), and therefore, for attentive parents, any changes in stool do not go unnoticed.

But what should you do if the regularity or quality of stool changes: call a doctor, treat it yourself, or should you not worry at all - everything will go away on its own? How should a baby normally poop, and how does stool change during different periods of its life?

About the norm and its variations

The frequency of stool in infants varies from 10-12 times a day to 1 time every 4-5 days.

Norm is a relative concept. I’m always surprised when I hear “a baby should poop 3-4 times (2-5 or 1 or 10 times, it doesn’t matter) a day with yellow mush.” Remember, your child does not owe anything to anyone. Every baby is an individual from birth. How he will have bowel movements depends on many factors - the degree of maturity of his digestive system, the type of feeding, and even the type of delivery, and concomitant pathology, and many other reasons. The main guidelines for determining the individual norm specifically for your baby are the child’s good health, regularity, painlessness of bowel movements and the absence of pathological impurities in the stool. Therefore, below I will give not only the average normal indicators, but also the extreme values of the norm and its variants, depending on the influence of various factors.

Frequency of bowel movements

After the passage of meconium (original stool of a viscous consistency, brown or black-green color), from 2-3 days the child experiences transitional stool - dark green or yellow-green, semi-liquid. From 4-5 days of life, a newborn establishes a certain rhythm of bowel movements. The frequency of bowel movements varies within quite significant limits: from 1 time every 1-2 days to 10-12 times a day. Most babies poop during or immediately after eating - after every feeding (or almost every one). But stool once every 2 days will also be a variant of the norm - provided that it is a regular stool (occurs every two days), and the act of defecation itself does not cause anxiety or pain to the child (the baby does not scream, but only grunts slightly, feces pass easily , no excessive straining).

As the child grows, he begins to poop less often: if during the newborn period he had stool on average 8-10 times, then by 2-3 months of life the baby poops 3-6 times a day, at 6 months - 2-3 times, and by year – 1-2 times a day. If, from the first days of life, the baby pooped once a day, then usually this frequency remains the same in the future, only the consistency changes (the stool gradually becomes formed from mushy).

Amount of feces

The amount of feces is directly related to the amount of food consumed by the child. In the first month of life, the child poops very little - about 5 g at a time (15-20 g per day), by 6 months - about 40-50 g, by one year - 100-200 g per day.

Stool consistency

The norm for newborn babies is a soft, mushy consistency. But even here, fluctuations within the normal range are quite acceptable - from liquid to fairly thick gruel. Ideally, the stool is homogeneous, evenly smeared, but it may be liquid with lumps (if a child pooped in a diaper, the liquid component is absorbed, slightly staining the surface, and a small number of small lumps may remain on top).

The older the child, the more dense his stool becomes, representing a thick mush by six months, and by one year it becomes practically formed, but at the same time quite soft and plastic.

Color

Yellow, golden yellow, dark yellow, yellow-green, yellow with white lumps, yellow-brown, green - each of these colors will be normal for a newborn's stool. After breastfeeding ends, the stool becomes darker and gradually turns brown.

Green feces

Please note that greenish, marsh-green, yellow-green colors are normal, and the green color of stool is due to the presence of bilirubin and (or) biliverdin. Bilirubin can be excreted in feces for up to 6-9 months, that is, a greenish color to the stool during this age period is quite normal. In newborn babies, the transition from yellow to green stool and back is especially noticeable during physiological jaundice, when maternal hemoglobin breaks down and bilirubin is actively released. But even in the subsequent days and months of life, until the intestinal microflora is fully established, the presence of bilirubin in the stool, which gives the stool a green color, is acceptable.

It is also quite normal for the stool to be initially yellow in color, but after a while it “turns green” - this means that the stool contains a certain amount of bilirubin, which is initially invisible, but upon contact with air it oxidizes and gives the stool a green color.

On the other hand, if a baby (excluding a child with ) has never had green stool before, and suddenly the stool becomes green or streaked with green, it is more likely that there will be either a functional digestive disorder (due to overfeeding, the introduction of complementary foods, etc. ), either a lack of milk in the mother, or some kind of disease in the child (intestinal infection, etc.).

Smell

In a breastfed baby, the stool has a peculiar, slightly sour smell. In artificial babies, the feces acquire an unpleasant, putrid or rotten odor.

Impurities

In general, any impurities in the stool - undigested food particles and other inclusions, blood, greens, mucus, pus - are considered pathological. But the period of newborns and infancy are exceptional periods; here even pathological impurities can turn out to be quite normal. We have already talked about greenery and found out why green can (although not always) be a variant of the norm. Let us now look at other impurities in the child’s stool.

Normally, a baby may have the following impurities in their stool:

White lumps– are caused by the immaturity of the baby’s digestive system and enzymes, which is why the baby does not fully absorb milk (especially when overfed). Provided the child is in satisfactory health and has normal weight gain, these inclusions can be considered normal.

Undigested food particles– appear after the introduction of complementary foods and are explained by the same physiological immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract. Usually the stool returns to normal within a week; if during this time the baby’s stool character does not return to normal, complementary feeding is most likely introduced too early and the baby is not yet ready for it.

Mucus– mucus is constantly present in the intestines and performs a protective function. Its appearance in small quantities in breastfed children is a variant of the norm.

What impurities should not be in a baby’s stool:

pus;
blood.

Their presence is a dangerous symptom, and if even small amounts of pus or blood appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Changes in stool depending on the child’s nutrition

Breastfed baby's chair

An excess of carbohydrates in the diet of a nursing mother will lead to increased fermentation processes in the baby’s intestines, intestinal colic, rumbling, frequent, loose, foamy stools.

The nutrition of a breastfed baby and the way the mother eats will determine the baby's stool. If the mother follows the basic nutritional rules for breastfeeding women and limits the diet from excessively fatty foods and sweets, the baby's stool usually meets all the criteria of the norm - yellowish, mushy, without impurities, regular, homogeneous. If there is an excess of fat in a woman’s menu, breast milk also becomes fattier, making it more difficult to digest, and therefore the baby may experience white lumps in the stool. A diet rich in easily digestible carbohydrates often leads to increased fermentation processes in the child’s intestines, and is accompanied by frequent, loose, sometimes even foamy stools, accompanied by rumbling, bloating and intestinal colic. With severe bloating, constipation may occur instead of loose stools.

Certain foods in the diet of a nursing mother can cause diarrhea in the baby, which manifests itself not only in the form of diarrhea, but also in the form of changes in stool - it becomes liquid, with mucus.

When a nursing mother lacks milk, the baby's stool first becomes viscous, thick, then dry, green or grayish-green, crumbly, passes in small quantities, or persistent constipation occurs.

Mixed and bottle-fed baby's stool

Compared to babies receiving breast milk, bottle-fed babies poop less frequently (in the first months of life - 3-4 times a day, by six months - 1-2 times a day), their stools are more dense, putty-like consistency, dark. yellow in color, with an unpleasant putrid or sharply sour odor. With a sudden transition to artificial feeding, when changing the usual formula, stool retention (constipation) is possible or, on the contrary, appears.

Feeding formulas with a high iron content (for prevention) may be accompanied by the release of dark green stool due to the presence of unabsorbed iron.

When infants are fed not with artificial adapted formulas, but with natural cow's milk, various problems with stool are even more often observed: chronic constipation or diarrhea. The feces of such children are usually bright yellow, sometimes with a greasy sheen, and a “cheesy” smell.

Changes in stool due to the introduction of complementary foods

Complementary foods themselves, which are a completely new type of food for a child, require active work of all parts of the digestive tract and enzymes. In most cases, children do not fully digest the first complementary foods, and undigested particles are passed out in the stool; they can easily be seen in the baby’s feces in the form of heterogeneous inclusions, grains, lumps, etc. At the same time, a small amount of mucus may appear in the stool. If such changes are not accompanied by the child’s anxiety, vomiting, diarrhea and other painful symptoms, there is no need to cancel complementary feeding - its introduction should be continued, very slowly increasing the single portion of the dish and carefully monitoring the baby’s well-being and the nature of the baby’s stool.

Certain complementary foods, for example, vegetables with a high content of plant fibers, can have a laxative effect - stools become more frequent (usually 1-2 times compared to the norm for a given child), and feces sometimes represent a slightly changed dish. For example, mothers note that they gave their child boiled carrots, and after 2-3 hours he pooped with the same carrots. When the initial goal was not to stimulate the baby’s bowel movements (the child did not suffer from constipation), it is better to temporarily postpone the introduction of the product that caused such a reaction, moving on to more “tender” vegetables (zucchini, potatoes) or cereals.

Other dishes, on the contrary, have a fixing effect and increase the viscosity of stool (rice porridge).

All this should be taken into account and correlated with the child’s digestive characteristics when introducing complementary foods.

In general, the introduction of any complementary foods to healthy children is accompanied by an increase in the amount of stool, its heterogeneity, changes in smell and color.

Pathological changes in stool and methods of treatment

Now let's look at what changes in the regularity of bowel movements or in the quality characteristics of feces are abnormal and indicate digestive disorders, diseases or other pathological conditions.

Abnormal bowel movements

There are three possible options: constipation, diarrhea or irregular bowel movements.

Constipation

Constipation includes one or more of the following symptoms:

delayed bowel movement – for 2 days or more; for a newborn baby, constipation can be considered the absence of stool for 24 hours, if previously he pooped several times a day;
painful or difficult defecation, accompanied by screaming and straining of the child; frequent ineffective straining (the child tries to poop, but cannot);
dense consistency of feces, “sheep” stool.

The main causes of constipation in infants:

mother's lack of milk;
irrational feeding (overfeeding, incorrect selection of formulas, feeding with cow's milk, early introduction of complementary foods, lack of fluid);
low physical activity;
immaturity or pathology of the digestive system;
concomitant diseases (pathology of the nervous system, etc.);
organic causes (intestinal obstruction, dolichosigma, Hirschsprung's disease, etc.).

Help with constipation

In case of acute constipation in a baby, regardless of the reasons for stool retention, defecation should be established. First, you can try to help the baby in this way: when he strains, trying to poop, bring your legs bent at the knees to his tummy and lightly (!) press on the tummy for about 10 seconds, then do a light massage of the abdomen clockwise around the navel, repeat the pressure . If auxiliary measures are ineffective, it is recommended to use children’s glycerin suppositories or give the child a microenema (“Microlax”). If there are no baby laxatives in your home medicine cabinet, you can perform a cleansing enema with boiled water at room temperature (within 19-22°C) - for a child in the first months of life, use a sterile (boiled) syringe of the smallest volume. You can also try to stimulate bowel movements reflexively by irritating the anus (by inserting the tip of a syringe or gas tube into it).

Sometimes difficulties during bowel movements are caused by a large amount of gases in the baby’s intestines - this is quite easy to understand by the way the baby cries when trying to poop, his tummy is swollen, rumbling can be heard, but gases and feces do not pass away. In such situations, abdominal massage and leg adduction are also used; you can simply try placing the baby on his tummy, carrying him in his arms, placing his stomach on your forearms. Warming the tummy makes it easier to pass gas (and subsequently stool) (the mother can put the baby on her stomach, face to face; apply a heated diaper to the stomach). Among medicines, simethicone preparations (Bobotik, Espumisan, Subsimplex) provide a fairly quick effect in eliminating colic; herbal remedies are used to improve the passage of gases (dill water, Plantex, fennel decoction, Baby Calm).

For recurring constipation, it is not recommended to constantly use reflex irritation of the sphincter with a tube or use cleansing enemas - there is a high probability that the child will “get used to” pooping not on his own, but with additional help. In the case of chronic constipation, it is necessary, first of all, to establish its cause and, if possible, eliminate it. Treatment of chronic constipation in infants should be comprehensive, including correction of the mother’s diet or selection of artificial formulas, proper timely introduction of complementary foods, daily walks, gymnastics, massage, and, if necessary, supplementation with water. Medications (Lactulose, etc.) are prescribed less frequently.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is understood as frequent (2 or more times compared to the individual and age norm) bowel movements with the release of liquefied stool. Diarrhea does not include the constant release of small amounts of feces (lightly smearing the surface of the diaper) during the passage of gases - this occurs due to the physiological weakness of the anal sphincter, and as the child grows, feces stop coming out when gases pass.

The table below shows the most likely causes of diarrhea in infants.

Cause	Signs	Treatment options
Reaction to	Loose stools up to 10-12 times a day; feces without pathological impurities (there may be a small amount of mucus); moderate increase in body temperature (up to 38-38.5°C); swelling and redness of the gums; salivation.	Feeding on demand; sufficient amount of liquid; use of antipyretics if necessary; use of local products (teethers, dental gels).
Acute intestinal infection	Diarrhea of varying severity (from moderate diarrhea to severe diarrhea); stool is liquid, may be watery, foamy, with flakes; pathological impurities are often detected - streaks of greenery, mucus, pus, streaks of blood, particles of undigested food; increased body temperature; frequent vomiting; symptoms of intoxication (lethargy, pallor, refusal to eat).	Calling a doctor; treatment with drugs such as Smecta or Polysorb; Soldering the baby with boiled water 1 tsp. in 5 minutes.
Lactose intolerance	The stool is liquid, foamy, yellow; sour smell; frequent colic.	If symptoms are moderate, no help is required. In case of obvious violations, consult a doctor; enzymes are prescribed; less often, a transfer to lactose-free mixtures is required.
Functional digestive disorder (overfeeding, early introduction of complementary foods)	Clear connection with food intake; stool is liquid, copious, yellow, possibly with an oily sheen, white lumps; stool is only slightly increased or normal; Possible single vomiting after eating or regurgitation.	Correction of diet: when breastfeeding, control the frequency of breastfeeding; with artificial feeding - calculate the volume of feeding depending on the weight of the child (done by a doctor); if complementary foods are introduced, temporarily abandon them.
Taking medications	Connection with taking medications (antibiotics, sulfonamides, antipyretics). When treated with certain drugs (including antibiotics containing clavulanic acid - amoxiclav, augmentin), diarrhea develops immediately due to stimulation of intestinal motility. Long-term antibiotic therapy can cause dysbiosis and, against this background, diarrhea.	Consultation with a doctor. It may be necessary to discontinue (replace) the drug or additionally prescribe probiotics.
Intestinal dysbiosis	Prolonged diarrhea or irregular bowel movements without fever, other symptoms are possible (lethargy, poor appetite, poor weight gain, etc.). This is confirmed by laboratory testing, but it should be borne in mind that stool analysis for dysbiosis is not indicative in infants under 3 months of age: during this period, the child’s intestines are just being populated by normal microflora.	Treatment is carried out as prescribed by the doctor.

Irregular bowel movements in infants

Irregular stool is an alternation of constipation with diarrhea, or an alternation of normal stool with constipation and (or) diarrhea. The most likely causes are poor feeding and intestinal dysbiosis. Irregular bowel movements can be a manifestation of chronic constipation, when after a long period of absence of bowel movements a large amount of liquid stool appears.

If you have irregular bowel movements, you should first of all pay attention to the child’s nutritional pattern. If errors in nutrition are excluded, there is no overfeeding, and the baby receives food according to his age, then you need to consult a doctor for further examination and treatment.

Changes in stool quantity

A decrease in the daily amount of feces in infants is observed mainly with constipation and fasting - in both cases, the feces are dense, difficult to pass, dark yellow or yellow-brown in color. Abundant stool is possible due to overfeeding. The constant release of large quantities of feces, especially of an unusual color, with a strong unpleasant odor, requires mandatory examination of the child (to exclude enzymatic deficiency, intestinal diseases, etc.).

Changes in consistency

Feces become denser with constipation, dehydration and lack of food; liquid – against the background of diarrhea for any reason.

Color Changes

As we have already discussed, the color of an infant's stool is very variable, and most often color changes do not pose a danger - with some exceptions - the baby's stool should not be colorless or black.

Black color is an alarming symptom and may be a sign of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract, and black stools should always rule out bleeding first. In addition to black stool (melena), bleeding may be accompanied by pallor, lethargy of the child, and often vomiting mixed with scarlet blood. Black stools are also observed when blood is swallowed in case of nosebleeds.

However, there are also completely harmless reasons for a baby passing black stool:

taking iron supplements;
Ingestion of blood by the baby during sucking due to cracked nipples in the mother.

Pathological impurities

There should never be any admixtures of pus or scarlet blood in the baby’s stool (even streaks of blood) - if they are detected, you should immediately seek medical help. Pus can appear with inflammatory (infectious and non-infectious) diseases of the intestines, blood - in case of bleeding from the lower parts of the digestive tract, with severe infectious diarrhea, with fissures in the anus, etc.

When to see a doctor immediately

Blood in a baby's stool is a reason to immediately consult a doctor.

Immediate seeking of medical help (calling an ambulance) is necessary if the baby has at least one of the following symptoms:

Black stools (not associated with taking iron supplements).
Scarlet blood or streaks of blood in the stool.
Diarrhea with high fever, vomiting.
Stool in the form of “raspberry jelly” - instead of feces, pink mucus comes out - a sign of intussusception.
Colorless stools combined with yellow skin and eyes.
A sharp deterioration in the child’s well-being: lethargy, pallor, monotonous screaming, incessant crying, etc.

Not only the above, but also any other “incorrect” changes in your baby’s stool, which you are unable to find an explanation for on your own or are not sure of their causes, require consultation with a pediatrician. It's always better to play it safe and discuss any warning signs with your doctor.

Which doctor should I contact?

If your child's stool changes, you should contact your pediatrician. After diagnostics and tests, the doctor can refer the parents and child to a consultation with a gastroenterologist, infectious disease specialist, allergist, endocrinologist, surgeon, or hematologist.