How many times a day is normal for a baby to have bowel movements

Parents who are feeding their babies often ask a question: how many times a day is normal for their baby to defecate? Because parents will find that their baby defecates very frequently, especially for babies who are breastfed, while babies who are fed with formula will find that their stools are very dry and they defecate less frequently. In fact, the frequency of a baby's bowel movements is related to the feeding method. Therefore, the baby's bowel movements should be judged based on the amount of milk consumed, the navel, etc. Let's learn about the normal number of bowel movements for babies.

The baby begins to excrete meconium within 10 hours after birth. It is black-green or dark green, sticky, odorless, and a bit like asphalt used for paving roads. Meconium is composed of bile, intestinal secretions, desquamated epithelial cells, amniotic fluid and fetal hair swallowed by the baby in the womb. It usually takes 2-3 days to discharge, about 3-5 times a day. If no meconium is seen within 24 hours after birth, one should suspect congenital malformation of the digestive tract causing fecal obstruction, which requires prompt diagnosis and treatment.

3-4 days after birth, meconium gradually transitions to normal baby feces. For babies under four months old whose main food is milk, their normal stools are mostly paste-like with uniform consistency, quite similar to the paste made of fine sand and water, and may contain a small amount of granular matter the size of pepper seeds.

The stools of breastfed babies are mostly golden yellow, occasionally thin like water or thick soup, slightly green, sour and odorless, and they defecate 2-4 times a day. The baby may defecate more frequently when it is newborn, 4-5 times a day, or even after each feeding. This is because breast milk is easy to digest, easy to excrete, and because of the reflex peristalsis of the intestines after food is input.

If the child has 4-5 bowel movements or more per day, or conversely only once every 2-3 days, but the stool characteristics are normal, the child has gained weight and is in good spirits, then filtering is not necessary.

And the baby should pay attention to develop good hygiene habits before and after defecation:

1. When the baby is sitting in the potty to defecate, he should avoid developing unhygienic habits of feeding, giving snacks, and playing with toys.

2. When wiping children's buttocks (especially girls), you should stick to the principle of wiping from front to back, because wiping from back to front will cause contamination of the urethral opening, which may lead to urethritis and cystitis.

3. Wash your child’s buttocks every night because there will always be a small amount of feces contaminating the area around the anus after defecation. Moreover, the vaginal secretions, juices and sebum of baby girls are a good environment for bacterial reproduction; the residual urine of baby boys is precipitated in the foreskin, forming white cheese-like smegma with a special odor, which can irritate the foreskin and cause inflammation.

4. Clean the bedpan after each bowel movement.

5. Parents should wash their hands with running water after emptying the child’s potty and wiping the child’s butt.

How many times a day is normal for a baby to defecate? It is very easy to judge. When parents find that the baby's stool is abnormal, they should first observe the baby's diet and whether there are symptoms of diarrhea, and then diagnose the problem comprehensively. If the baby has more or less bowel movements, first determine the abnormal characteristics, and then treat it according to the actual situation. At this time, you must also do a good job of hygienic care for the baby's bowel movements. The baby's skin is tender after defecation, it is best to wipe it with soft paper and then rinse with warm water.