Is it normal for a newborn to not have a bowel movement on the fourth day?

Under normal circumstances, a newborn baby defecates many times a day. If the baby does not defecate occasionally, it is actually a very normal phenomenon. Parents do not need to be too nervous. First, pay attention to observe the baby. If the baby is in good mental state, eats well and sleeps well, there is no need to deal with it. If the baby has physical abnormalities, such as irritability and frequent crying, it is best to take the baby to the hospital for examination.

Is it normal for a newborn to not have a bowel movement for a day?

Newborn babies have irregular bowel movements every day. At first, the baby will expel the meconium that has accumulated for 9 months, but it must be cleared out through frequent bowel movements, so the number of bowel movements will increase. It usually takes 2-3 days, 3-5 times a day, for the dark green color to disappear. If the baby has no meconium within 24 hours after birth, parents should pay attention and suspect that congenital malformation of the digestive tract has caused fecal obstruction. The baby needs to go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

Breastfed newborn baby bowel movement

For breastfed babies, the frequency of bowel movements is very flexible. Usually, the frequency is higher in the neonatal period, 2-5 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. Therefore, if a breastfed baby has loose stools or has more frequent bowel movements, it is normal as long as he is in good spirits and feeding, is gaining weight normally, and does not have difficulty defecating, abdominal pain, or bloating, and parents do not need to worry.

Breastfed newborns may even defecate 7-8 times a day. Parents do not need to worry. This is called physiological diarrhea, which is a normal phenomenon. When the baby grows to a certain age, this diarrhea will disappear automatically.

Causes of constipation in newborns

Newborn constipation is a common phenomenon. Many newborn babies will suffer from constipation. The reasons are also traceable. Some are exclusively breastfed, while others are artificially fed. If constipation occurs, one cannot help but think that it is related to breast milk or formula.

First, it is rare for babies to be constipated when breastfeeding, but it is still possible. The main reasons are as follows:

Insufficient breast milk. If the mother's milk is insufficient, the baby will always be in a semi-hungry state, and the baby may only defecate once every two or three days. In addition to infrequent bowel movements, there are also signs of insufficient breast milk, such as feeding time longer than 20 minutes, no sense of satisfaction after feeding, slow weight gain, restless sleep, etc.

Breast milk is too high in protein. The mother's diet directly affects the quality of breast milk. If the mother drinks protein-rich soups such as pig's trotter soup and chicken soup at every meal, there will be too much protein in the breast milk. After the baby eats it, the stool will be alkaline, hard and dry, and not easy to excrete.

Second, babies who are fed formula milk are particularly prone to constipation. The main reasons are as follows :

Powdered milk is not easy to digest. The raw material of milk powder is milk, which contains a lot of casein and a high content of calcium salt. It is easy to clump under the action of stomach acid and is difficult to digest.

The baby has gastrointestinal discomfort. Formula milk is made from milk and various nutrients are added to it. Some babies' stomachs are not adapted to certain milk powders, so they become constipated after drinking a specific brand of milk powder. This is generally related to the baby's stomach and intestines. Every baby's physique is different. Some babies cannot adapt to foreign brands of milk powder, but have no problem drinking domestic brands of milk powder.