Is it normal for a newborn to poop all the time?

We all know that after a newborn is born, their gastrointestinal organs are not particularly mature. At this time, they are likely to suffer from neonatal diarrhea and constipation. Many newborns will keep defecating after birth, but during this process, they do not drink too much breast milk, so they will feel that the frequency of defecation is relatively high. So is it normal for newborns to keep defecating?

What to do if a newborn baby has diarrhea?

In fact, newborns who are breastfed are very likely to have frequent bowel movements and loose stools. The reason is that breast milk contains lactose, which must be converted into monosaccharides by disaccharidase before it can be absorbed by the newborn. However, the content of disaccharidase in the body of newborns is relatively insufficient, and lactose cannot be digested well, which will irritate the intestines and cause loose stools.

In addition, breast milk contains motilin, which promotes intestinal motility. Breastfed children have increased gastrointestinal motility, which promotes defecation, resulting in more frequent bowel movements. Generally speaking, it is normal for breastfed children to defecate 5 to 6 times a day, so parents do not need to worry too much.

If a newborn baby defecates more than 7 to 8 times a day, the stool is green, dark green, or bloody, there is too much mucus in the stool, and it smells particularly fishy, ​​and the child cries during defecation, then parents should consider whether the child has enteritis.

Normal bowel movements for babies

The poop produced by drinking breast milk. The stool of a breastfed baby is usually golden yellow, with a thin or soft texture, like the color and shape of a buttermilk puff, and tastes slightly sour or lactic. Sometimes there are some white particles mixed in the stool, which is normal.

During the first few weeks of life, bowel movements may vary from once after each meal to several times a day or once every few days. Some babies have to defecate after every meal, but it is not because of diarrhea, but because their stomach is full of milk, which causes intestinal peristalsis and the urge to defecate. This is called gastrointestinal reflex defecation, which is a normal physiological phenomenon.

On the other hand, breast milk is easily digested and absorbed, leaving no residue and thus less likely to form stool. As long as your baby has normal bowel movements without difficulty and is gaining weight normally, the frequency of bowel movements is not important. It usually takes two or three months for the frequency of bowel movements to gradually become fixed.

The above is the editor’s introduction to “Is it normal for newborn babies to have loose stools?” I believe that parents will understand after reading the editor’s introduction that abnormal stools in newborns indicate poor digestion or are caused by cold. Mothers need to pay attention to regulating the feeding method until the newborn’s stools are normal before they can rest assured.