You can tell a lot about your baby’s health by what’s going on in his diaper. It is normal to see a number of changes in your baby’s stool as he grows up, drinks breast milk or formula and starts eating solid foods. However, there are cases where the colour and consistency may indicate an infection. Use this stork guide to distinguish natural changes from warning signs that require a visit to the doctor’s office.

       1. Stool of the new-born:

The stools of the new-born have an ecru-black, tarry, sticky consistency that looks like engine oil. This is called meconium and is composed of amniotic fluid, mucus, skin cells and other things introduced into the womb.

       2. The stool of the breastfeeding baby:

The stools of nursing babies are considered normal when it is mustard yellow, green or brown. It is typically dull and pasty and can be liquid enough to look like diarrhea. The healthy stool of babies in the breast feels soft (unlike the regular smell of bowel movements).

    3. The stool of babies who take the bottle:

The stools of bottle-feeding babies are typically a shade of yellow or brown with a pasty consistency that is like peanut butter. Formula-fed infants also transmit fewer stools, but are larger and more fragrant than breastfed babies.

  4. The partially digested food in the baby’s stool:

Not all foods are completely digestible. Some foods move so quickly in the intestines that they do not completely decompose. This can cause food pieces to appear in your baby’s poop or to have a surprising colour.

Different colours of stool and their meaning

Do not be afraid! Changes in stool colour are normal. Usually, a different shade simply means that there is more or less of a pigment picked up during the digestive process.

1. Greenish stools: Babies who receive an iron supplement will often have a green baby poop. Green poop can also occur at 4 or 6 months when you introduce solid, green foods, such as pure peas, spinach and beans, into your baby’s diet.

2. Orange, yellow, and brown stools: Baby poop that is orange, yellow, or brown is completely normal in nursing and / or bottle-feeding infants.

3. Black blood in the baby’s stool: Often, if your baby’s poop has small spots of black blood, it means that a baby has digested blood while breastfeeding on his mother’s cracked and bleeding nipples. While this is not a threat to your baby, it is a good idea to check with a doctor to make sure blood is not a symptom of something more serious.

Signs of danger

Call your doctor or go to the hospital immediately if you have these signs of danger in your baby’s stool:

1) Liquid stool: The baby’s diarrhea will be green, yellow or brown and skim. It can be an indication of an infection or an allergy. If this lasts too long without treatment, it can lead to dehydration.

2) Hard stools: Your baby may be constipated if his poop is hard and looks like pebbles. Babies can become constipated when they are introduced to solid foods. It could also be a sign of sensitivity to milk or soy, or a lack of tolerance to something in breast milk or formula.

3) Red blood in the baby’s stool: While your baby’s poop may turn red due to something he has eaten or drunk, such as tomatoes or fruit mix, the baby’s red poop may be a sign of blood in the stool. Red blood found in normal poo could be a sign of an allergy to milk protein. While red blood in diarrhoea could mean that your baby has a bacterial infection

4) Gooey stools: Seeing gluey and green stripes with shiny ropes in your baby’s poo, it means that mucus is present. Although this can happen when your baby is bathing, mucus in baby poop can also be a sign of infection.

5) Stool: The white poop with chalk could be a warning sign that your baby is not digesting food properly. A white colour may indicate a lack of liver bile to digest food.

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