How to promote bowel movements in newborns?

Newborn babies are relatively young and cannot speak yet, so if they feel unwell, they can usually only express it by crying. At this time, parents generally need to pay more attention to observe the baby. The shape and color of the baby's stool can reflect the baby's physical health, so parents must learn to distinguish. So how to promote newborn defecation? The following are methods to promote newborn defecation.

Breastfeeding

Under normal circumstances, if the child is breastfed, the color of his stool will be yellow or golden yellow, and sometimes the stool will be green. Generally, there is no obvious mucus and the stool concentration is normal. It is often very soft, has a sweet and sour smell, and occasionally contains milk curds. The baby will defecate 2-5 times a day, and some children will defecate 6-7 times, but not much each time. As long as the color and shape of the stool are normal and the baby's weight can increase normally, there is no need to worry, because this is a normal phenomenon.

Milk powder feeding

The stools of such babies are dry, rough, easy to form, and mostly light yellow or brown in color, and generally will not stain diapers.

If the sugar content in the milk powder is high, the stool will often become soft and emit a slightly rancid odor. Normal bowel movements occur 1-2 times a day or once every one or two days, with a larger amount of bowel movements each time. The color of baby's stool will gradually change from yellow to brown after the baby starts eating complementary foods.

Newborn baby bowel movement frequency

The number of bowel movements of a newborn baby varies each day, and different feeding methods can also lead to different bowel movement frequencies.

1. 2-3 days after birth: The number of times varies and will increase

In the first two or three days after the child is born, the meconium accumulated in the body for 9 months will be expelled through frequent bowel movements, 3-5 times a day, after which the dark green meconium will gradually disappear. The time of meconium excretion in premature babies will be later, but if a full-term baby has no meconium excretion within 24 hours after birth, mothers should pay attention. In this case, you should take your baby to the doctor in time to see if the baby has congenital malformations of the digestive tract.

2. Breastfeeding: Frequent bowel movements

Breastfeeding has many benefits for babies, and the nutrients in breast milk are easier for babies to digest and absorb. In addition, the oligosaccharide components in breast milk can help the baby's gastrointestinal tract to move better, so breastfed babies usually have more bowel movements, and even have to defecate after every feeding. Generally, babies defecate 2-5 times a day, and may even have 7-8 episodes of physiological diarrhea. However, as long as the baby's other conditions are normal, with no bloating, abdominal pain, or difficulty defecating, and his weight is increasing normally, parents do not need to worry. Parents do not need to worry if their baby has this type of diarrhea, because it is a normal phenomenon and will improve and disappear on its own as the baby grows up.

3. Artificial milk powder feeding: less stool

Children of this type do not have frequent bowel movements, and their bowel movements are often dry, rough, and hard. They usually have bowel movements 1-2 times a day, and some babies may have bowel movements once every two or three days. But as long as the bowel movements are regular, the feces are not like sheep feces, and are mostly brown or golden yellow, there is no problem.

4. Mixed feeding: more times and larger amounts

Newborns who are fed a mixture of breast milk and dairy products usually have bowel movements 3-4 times a day and in large quantities, but as the baby grows, the frequency will decrease accordingly. The stool is soft, has a distinct odor, and is generally dark brown in color. If the baby has diarrhea, the mother needs to pay attention to her daily diet, eat less cold and greasy food, and eat a light diet while ensuring nutrition, which will be more conducive to the baby's digestion and absorption.