How many times a day is normal for a newborn baby to poop?

The baby will gradually excrete meconium in the first few days after birth, and most newborn babies will have bowel movements within 24 hours of birth. So how many times a day is normal for a baby to have bowel movements? How to judge whether the color of the baby's stool is normal?

How many times a day is normal for a baby to poop?

There are many different situations in which babies have bowel movements, so it is difficult to define a normal number of bowel movements. In principle, breastfed babies have more bowel movements than formula-fed babies, and the number of bowel movements gradually decreases as the baby gets older.

Newborns usually have more bowel movements, usually 2-5 times a day, but some babies have 7-8 bowel movements a day. As the child grows older, the number of bowel movements will gradually decrease, and after 2-3 months, the number of bowel movements will decrease to 1-2 times a day.

When a newborn baby farts, they often bring out some feces, or they pass small amounts of feces in batches. Parents are advised not to rush to change the diaper, but wait until the baby has finished defecating before cleaning up.

Is the color of your baby's stool normal?

The baby will gradually excrete meconium in the first few days after birth. After drinking milk, the color of the stool gradually changes from black to dark green and yellow. Yellow, coffee, dark brown or green and other earth-colored stools are normal colors. White, gray or light yellow stools usually indicate serious liver and gallbladder diseases and must be further diagnosed and treated by a doctor. There are many reasons for red stools. It can be caused by swallowing the mother's blood during delivery or sucking on bleeding nipples during breastfeeding, but it is best to ask a doctor to evaluate whether it is normal.

Differences between breast milk and formula milk stool

Breastfed babies have more frequent bowel movements, and their stools are mustard yellow in color, watery in appearance, and mixed with some white impurities. Most formula-fed babies have at least one bowel movement a day, and their stools are yellow or tan in color, and look like paste or formed soft stools.

If a breastfed baby within 2 weeks of birth has less than 3 bowel movements per day, or the amount of stool each time is less than 50 yuan, it may be because he does not drink enough milk. You should pay attention to whether his weight is growing or whether there is a problem with breastfeeding. Some breastfed babies have green stools, which may be due to too long intervals between feedings. It is recommended to breastfeed according to the baby's needs.

The bowel movements of breastfed babies after one month vary greatly. They may have bowel movements several times a day, or they may have bowel movements every few days or even more than a week. Healthy breastfed babies rarely have difficulty in defecation or hard stools. If the baby has a bowel movement for more than 5 days, please ask the pediatrician to do a preliminary evaluation to rule out the possibility of gastrointestinal diseases.

How to judge whether your baby has constipation or diarrhea

Some babies have red faces, thick necks, and cry when defecating. Parents can't help but worry about whether they have constipation. Defecation requires effort for babies, so parents can usually give their babies abdominal massages to help them defecate more smoothly.

If your baby is unusually restless during bowel movements, vomits continuously, has a sudden decrease in bowel movements, has hard stools or contains blood, or cannot pass stool after straining for more than 10 minutes, he or she may really have constipation and should be treated by a pediatrician.

On the contrary, if the baby's stool becomes more and more watery, or the frequency of bowel movements exceeds the number of feedings, consider whether it is diarrhea and it is best to seek medical assistance as soon as possible.