Baby's stool smells fishy

Parents will be very worried if the baby's bowel movements are abnormal. Because the baby's spleen and stomach are relatively weak, if the nutrition intake is unbalanced or there is a problem with the food, it will cause intestinal indigestion in the baby, and thus suffer from gastrointestinal diseases, which has a great impact on the baby's health. Some parents find that the baby's stool is fishy. So, what is going on if your baby’s stool smells fishy?

Why does my baby's stool smell fishy?

If your baby's stool has a fishy smell, it is a sign of indigestion. It is directly related to the added complementary food.

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.

Why is baby's stool green?

1. 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. 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. 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.

4. If a baby who eats iron-containing milk powder cannot fully absorb the iron in the milk powder, his stool will be yellow-green, the white particles in the stool will be larger, and will be more likely to have a foul odor.

5. When babies first start eating vegetable puree, they often excrete a small amount of green vegetable puree in their stool. Some parents often think that this is indigestion and stop adding vegetable puree. In fact, this phenomenon is common when healthy babies change their food.