Bowel movement in babies: what is normal?

            

Beware of striking colors or blood in the stool

The diaper content can be very different in color and shape. Parents should not be surprised if it turns black after the baby gets an iron supplement. "That is harmless," Dr. med. Axel Enninger, Medical Director of the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Klinikum Stuttgart – Olga Hospital. However, if the stool turns black without giving iron, blood from the gastrointestinal tract may be the reason: Therefore, go to the doctor.

Also, if lighter blood is in the stool, a pediatrician should assess the situation. "In older children – but occasionally also in babies – the use of beetroot may be the reason for stool discoloration," says Enninger.

Parents should also watch out for discolored, whitish stools. "A white stool may indicate that something is wrong with bile excretion," says the pediatrician. Small white lines in otherwise normal colored stools can be worms – or simply undigested rice grains.

Pain in Constipation

"It does not matter how often the baby has a bowel movement, but whether it is painful in the meantime," explains the pediatrician. Parents need to watch their child as a whole: What does it look like? Does it hurt when defecating? A sign of constipation may be when the chair changes from day to day, from small dumplings to bulky chairs. The hardened stool occasionally causes small mucosal tears on the anus when constipation occurs, causing blood to be found in the stool. Then drugs that soften the stool can help. The rectum is less overstretched and the mucosal tears may heal again.

Does my baby have lactose intolerance?

"Congenital lactose intolerance is extremely rare in the first three to four years of life in Germany," says the specialist in pediatric gastroenterology. In this form of lactose intolerance babies do not tolerate breast milk because they lack a specific enzyme. You can react with abdominal cramps, flatulence and severe diarrhea. Congenital lactose intolerance is dangerous: it can lead to failure to thrive and development if not treated in time.

"In contrast to lactose intolerance, true cow's milk allergy in the first year of life is not uncommon," says Enninger. Some infants temporarily do not tolerate milk protein. Again, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation or diarrhea may occur. Some suffer from vomiting, sometimes accompanied by rash. Now and then respiratory problems, circulatory problems, and even anaphylactic shock can be the result. Many of these children then tolerate cow's milk protein after infancy.