Newborn stool

Metabolism is an ability that every living organism possesses. It allows your body to eliminate harmful substances and keep your body in a healthy state. If a person cannot defecate normally, then there will be problems with his physical condition, so normal defecation is very important to the human body. Recently, studies have shown that a baby's first bowel movement is very different from all previous bowel movements. A baby's first bowel movement is called meconium.

Meconium is the first stool excreted by a newborn after birth. It is dark green in color and its composition is different from normal stool. Most of it is amniotic fluid that the fetus drank while it was still in the mother's womb and cells shed from its own gastrointestinal tract. Meconium has no odor and is very viscous. It also has the following characteristics.

Meconium (also known as meconium) is medical term for a newborn's first bowel movement. Unlike the feces they excrete later, meconium is composed of substances digested by the fetus while in the mother's body, including epithelial tissue of the intestinal mucosa, fetal hair, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, water, and cells shed from the skin and digestive tract. Since the environment of the fetus in the mother's body is basically sterile, meconium can be said to be almost sterile. Unlike the feces that the baby will excrete later, meconium has a high viscosity, like asphalt, and is odorless. The typical change in a newborn's stool is from meconium to yellow and green stools over about 4 to 5 days. Normally, meconium should be excreted from the body within a few days after birth. As the baby drinks milk, the color of the stool begins to become yellowish due to mixing with the digested milk until all the meconium in the body is excreted. The color of meconium is similar to that of opium, so Aristotle of ancient Greece believed that the function of meconium is to help the fetus sleep well in the mother's body.

In a pregnant woman's uterus, the fetus is suspended in the amniotic fluid. This fluid protects the baby as the fetus grows and develops. The fetus will swallow amniotic fluid in the uterus. The swallowed amniotic fluid includes the various substances in the meconium mentioned above (fetal hair, skin cells, etc.). The swallowed amniotic fluid will be filtered, absorbed and excreted from the urine back into the amniotic fluid in the uterus, while the substances it contains will remain in the intestines. This cycle ensures that the amniotic fluid is in a clean and healthy state during the nine months of pregnancy. This process occurs approximately every three hours. If the fetus passes stool (meconium) in the uterus, the baby may breathe it into the lungs, causing meconium aspiration syndrome.

The first feces excreted by a newborn baby is different from the feces they excrete later: meconium is composed of substances digested by the fetus while in the mother's body, including epithelial tissue of the intestinal mucosa, fetal hair, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile and water. Since the environment of the fetus in the mother's body is basically sterile, meconium can be said to be almost sterile. Unlike the feces that the baby will excrete later, meconium has a high viscosity, like asphalt, and is odorless. Normally, meconium should be excreted from the body within a few days after birth. As the baby drinks milk, the color of the stool begins to become yellowish due to mixing with the digested milk until all the meconium in the body is excreted. The color of meconium is similar to that of opium, so Aristotle of ancient Greece believed that the function of meconium is to help the fetus sleep well in the mother's body.

Normal meconium 1. Neonatal meconium: The main component of meconium is water, accounting for about 72%. It is composed of epithelial cells shed from the fetal intestine, bile, concentrated digestive juices and swallowed amniotic fluid. Meconium is first excreted within a few hours after birth (usually within 10 hours). It is dark green and a little shiny, much like the asphalt melted by the scorching sun on the road in summer. It turns dark green when rubbed and has no odor. It gradually transitions to normal baby feces within 2 to 3 days after feeding.

2. Breastfed baby poop: Breastfed babies’ poop is yellow or golden yellow before adding complementary food, and is pasty, sometimes slightly watery or green, with a slightly sour taste. They have 3 to 4 bowel movements a day. There are many normal parasitic bacteria in the baby's intestines, such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, etc. They help break down food in the intestines, promote absorption, and create an acidic environment in the intestines. Intestinal pathogenic bacteria are most afraid of acidity, so it is difficult for them to survive and cause disease in the intestines. After adding complementary foods, the frequency of bowel movements gradually decreases to 1 to 2 times a day.

3. Artificially-fed baby poop: Artificially-fed baby poop is light yellow or earthy gray (lighter than breastfed baby poop), with a harder texture. Because the milk powder contains more protein, it has an obvious odor of protein decomposition. It occurs 1 to 2 times a day, sometimes with milk lumps. If starchy foods are added at the same time, bowel movements will not be frequent, but the volume will be larger, dark brown in color, and the odor will be stronger.

4. Baby poop after adding complementary foods: After adding complementary foods, the baby’s main food is no longer milk-based, but a transition to adult food. Rice, noodles, vegetables, meat, soy products, etc. all become the baby’s food. The stool is now banana colored.

Meconium is not as smelly as ordinary feces. It can reflect the baby's health status, and the newborn's first bowel movement also indicates that the baby's gastrointestinal function is normal. If the characteristics of the newborn's stool are abnormal, mothers should be vigilant, and timely medical treatment is the best way.