Examining baby stools: what are green stools talking about when mixed feeding?

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

With the birth of a new life, every young mother has many new worries and reasons for concern. All women who have just got acquainted with motherhood, very closely monitor the health of their child and note all the changes that occur with his tiny body.

Including all mothers must pay attention to the baby's chair. This makes sense, because the color and nature of the stool can tell about the state of health of the baby and the presence of pathologies of its internal organs. However, in order to determine if everything is in order with your child's stool, you need to know how it should be for infants who are breastfed, formula-fed or mixed.

What should be normal bowel movements in a newborn baby?

During the period when the unborn child is in the womb, meconium accumulates in its tiny intestine.

1. With a successful pregnancy, it begins to stand out only after the baby is born, therefore it is often called the original feces. Meconium in most cases is a homogeneous mass from dark olive to black, odorless and resembling tar in its consistency.
2. In about 8 out of 10 babies, the original feces are excreted for 2 or 3 days until the young mother has a large influx of breast milk. In some cases, the meconium may pass within a few hours after the completion of labor, and then the crumbs may not have any bowel movements at all for up to 72 hours. This is due to the fact that the colostrum that the baby feeds during this period is almost completely absorbed by his gastrointestinal tract, and there are no toxins and toxins left in the intestines, so there is simply nothing to be released.
3. If the mother has sufficient lactation, and the baby continues to feed exclusively on breast milk, the child's stool acquires a mushy consistency, a characteristic sour smell and a yellow-green tint. Such babies usually poop after each feeding. A little later, the stool becomes pure yellow and uniform. Such a stool in the baby remains until the introduction of the first complementary foods, however, its frequency decreases over time.
4. As a rule, the stool of a baby that does not receive breast milk, that is, is on mixed or artificial feeding, has a slightly thicker consistency, a rather unpleasant putrid odor and a darker color with a brownish tint. Normally, the baby should poop at least 1 time per day, if this does not happen, the baby can be safely diagnosed with constipation.

Causes of green stools in infants with mixed feeding

With any type of feeding, there should not be any greens in the baby's feces, however, within a few days after the baby is born, this is considered a variant of the norm.

If the baby's stool has already been established, but a visible greenish tint remains in it, this may indicate the presence of the following factors:

• Malnutrition. Often, a young mother replaces only one or two feedings with a special adapted infant formula for babies, and the rest of the time she feeds the baby with her milk. If at the same time the baby does not receive breast milk, his bowel movements may acquire a greenish tint. In this case, the amount of formula consumed by the infant should be increased;
• The predominance of fresh vegetables and fruits in the diet of a nursing mother and a lack of meat products;
• Intestinal dysbiosis;
• If the baby's stool has a greenish or mustard tint, a watery consistency, a pungent sour smell, and sometimes even foams, most likely, we are talking about lactase deficiency. With this problem, the baby's immature digestive system cannot cope with milk protein. A nursing mother should, first of all, exclude fresh milk from her diet and reduce the amount of fermented milk products consumed, as well as, together with a pediatrician, choose a suitable lactose-free mixture. As a rule, lactase deficiency resolves on its own by the age of 9-12 months;
• Finally, in some cases, green stools in infants are observed with an intestinal infection.

Causes of constipation in infants with mixed feeding

Constipation in an infant is called not only the absence of stool for more than 24 hours, but also difficult bowel movement, which is accompanied by pain and discomfort. As a rule, a baby who tries to poop, with constipation, strains heavily, tenses and cries loudly.

Since a rather rare bowel movement, or prolonged constipation, almost always becomes the cause of dysbiosis, often greens appear in the baby's stool. That is why these two problems are concomitant to each other and require careful observation and an integrated approach to their solution.

The reasons for constipation in a mixed-fed infant can be as follows:

1. Improper nutrition of the mother, which is expressed in the predominance of foods rich in easily digestible carbohydrates and proteins in her diet, and a lack of dietary fiber. If your child has constipation, you need to adjust your daily menu, namely, to eat as much porridge as possible made from buckwheat and oatmeal, as well as brown rice, to include boiled and steamed vegetables and whole grain bread in the diet. In addition, you should eat foods that have laxative properties, such as boiled beets, figs, dried apricots, prunes, fresh peaches and apricots. In the absence of lactase deficiency in an infant, it is useful to drink fresh kefir, this drink will help a young mother to normalize both her own stool and the stool of a newborn toddler;
2. The reason for constipation in babies who are formula or mixed feeding can be the choice of an inappropriate infant formula. In such a situation, it is imperative to consult a pediatrician in order to select a product that is best suited for the baby together with the doctor;
3. Various disorders of intestinal motility, including spasm and hypotension of the anal sphincter. In such a situation, the baby, as a rule, behaves very restlessly, since he does not have gas, and severe intestinal colic is observed. A child who is suffering cannot fall asleep, and if he falls asleep, he constantly wakes up, screams and cries for several hours in a row. All this in order exhausts not only the baby, but also his entire family. Under these circumstances, the management of constipation in a mixed-fed newborn infant should be under the strict supervision of a physician. In most cases, children over 3 weeks of age are prescribed various fermented milk mixtures, as well as medications such as Mikrolax microclysters, glycerin suppositories or the popular Duphalac syrup.

Green stools in babies in the overwhelming majority of cases do not indicate the presence of serious health problems, however, it requires mandatory observation and some adjustments in the nutrition of a young mother and baby.

If such measures do not help you to normalize your child's stool, consult a doctor, perhaps the baby needs to undergo a detailed examination and appropriate treatment.