Why is my child's poop green?

When a child's poop is green, some parents may worry about it. In fact, if the baby is breastfed during infancy, the stool will also be green. So if this is the problem, parents do not need to worry.

(1) Breastfed babies have green stools

The color of stool is closely related to the chemical changes of bile. Bile in the upper small intestine contains bilirubin and biliverdin, which give stool its yellow-green color. When the stool is pushed into the colon, biliverdin is reduced and converted into bilirubin, and the stool becomes yellow. The stool of breastfed children is acidic. Under the action of intestinal bacteria, part of the bilirubin is converted into biliverdin, making the stool light green. This is a normal phenomenon. If the baby eats well and is in good general condition, the new mother does not need to worry. This is only a temporary phenomenon and will improve as the baby grows older.

(2) Catching a cold

If the milk the child drinks is a little cold or the child's abdomen or feet are cold, the stool may turn green.

This is because catching a cold can cause the intestines to move too quickly, and the biliverdin in the colon does not have time to be reduced to bilirubin, so it appears green. This is one of the common causes of green stool. Green stools caused by this reason may also have symptoms similar to a cold. If you only have green stools, pay attention to keeping your abdomen warm, especially at night, and you will recover in a few days. If you have cold symptoms, you should also receive symptomatic treatment for the cold.

(3) Hunger

Some babies do not eat enough, and hunger will speed up intestinal peristalsis and cause green stools. Babies may cry and be restless due to hunger, which can be easily distinguished from the other situations mentioned above. In this case, just increase the amount of milk and make sure the baby is full.

(4) Iron-fortified formula milk

The stool of artificially fed children is alkaline, which can further convert some fecal bilirubin into fecal bilirubin, which is colorless, so the stool is mostly light yellow. If your baby's formula isn't fully absorbed from the iron in it, it can also cause his stools to be green.

Therefore, whether the stool is green or not is not a big deal. As long as you observe the frequency of your child's bowel movements and the nature of the stool, if they are normal, you don't need to worry too much.