Baby poop guide, a must-have for new parents

The frequency and texture of infants and young children\’s stools often reflect their digestive function. If parents can pay attention to the texture, color and frequency of infants and young children\’s stools, and correctly identify normal and abnormal stools, it will help early detection of the baby\’s digestive tract. Abnormalities provide valuable clues for diagnosing diseases. Scientific parenting knowledge: The complete video collection of the Encyclopedia of Infant and Child Care Encyclopedia. A must-read for new mothers: Basics of understanding stool and observing healthy baby\’s stool. Frequency of feeding by month. Odor, color, shape. 0-4 months. Breastfeeding of newborns is more common, 6-6 months per day. 7 times or even 10 times is possible. As the age of the month increases, the feces of newborns may be odorless 3-5 times a day, but may have a sweet and sour odor. The stools of golden, yellow, or brown newborns are relatively thin, mushy or watery, and may contain mucus or milk flaps. After 2-3 months, the baby\’s stool will gradually become softer and thicker, and will no longer be dry or hard. If a newborn is artificially fed 2-3 times a day, basically once every 1-3 days, the color will be normal and light yellow with no obvious odor. If the milk powder eaten has high iron content, it may be green. The stool is drier than that of breastfed babies, has a harder texture, and is basically formed into strips. But it is still relatively soft compared to adults. Breastfeeding is significantly reduced after adding complementary foods at 5 months, once every 1-2 days, and once within 3 days. There will be a fermented odor after adding carbohydrates. After adding meaty foods at 7-8 months, the smell will change and the color will be affected by complementary foods. The effect gradually transitions to forming. Artificial feeding is done once every 1-2 days, and the color of the baby\’s stool is normal within 3 days. Newborn meconium is dark green. Newly born babies will excrete ink 6-12 hours after birth. Green meconium. Meconium usually has no odor, is viscous, and is almost dark green in color. It is mainly composed of amniotic fluid swallowed by the fetus and secretions shed by the fetus. Experts remind: This is not a bad \”stinky\”: the time for premature infants to pass meconium is sometimes delayed, which is mainly related to the poor intestinal peristalsis function of premature infants or the delay in eating. During the transition period, the stool will be yellow-green until the meconium has been expelled, and during the transition to normal stool, the stool will be yellow-green. Most newborns will show this stage of stool after feeding for 2-3 days, and then gradually enter the normal yellow stage. Experts remind: This is not a bad \”stink\”: the time when newborn feeding starts and the amount of milk intake will directly affect the occurrence and duration of transition. If the start of breastfeeding is delayed, the time of transition will also be delayed. The color of the baby\’s stool becomes darker after eating complementary food. The baby starts to add complementary food from 6 months of age. As the quantity and type of the baby\’s complementary food increases, the baby\’s stool begins to gradually approach that of an adult and begins to become darker in color. Sometimes it is related to the color of the food, and the mother will be worried about it. Experts remind: This is not a bad \”stinky smell\”: babies who eat more vegetables and fruits will have looser stools. If you are a child who eats a lot of fish, meat, milk, and eggs, the stool will be smellier due to the digestion of protein. Breast-fed and artificially-fed babies have soft, golden stools. Breast milk is rich in oligosaccharides, which can fully stimulate gastrointestinal motility. Most babies will not have hard stools. Breast-fed babies usually have more stools during the newborn period. 2-5 times a day. As the child grows older, the frequency of bowel movements will gradually decrease. As long as the baby is energetic andIf the breastfeeding situation is good, the weight gain is normal, and there is no difficulty in defecation, abdominal pain, or flatulence, it is normal, and parents do not need to worry. Experts remind: This is not a bad \”stink\”: breastfed newborns may even defecate 7-8 times a day. This is called physiological diarrhea, which is a normal phenomenon. This kind of diarrhea will automatically occur when the baby reaches a certain age. disappear. The khaki plaster stools of babies fed with formula milk are less frequent, usually dry, rough, and slightly hard like plaster, but as long as it is not difficult to digest and does not look like sheep\’s stool, it does not matter. If there is no problem with digestion, it will usually be earthy or golden yellow with a slightly sour smell, about 1-2 times a day. Experts remind: This is not a bad \”stinky\”: children who drink formula milk sometimes have yellowish or green stools. This is because the iron content of formula milk is very high. When the baby does not fully absorb the iron in the milk powder, , excess iron will make the stool green, which is normal. It’s not that children’s poop is green as the elders say. It is frightened cause gastrointestinal discomfort. How to deal with bad \”stinks\”? The newborn does not defecate for 24 hours. If a full-term newborn does not pass meconium within 24 hours after birth. This is enough to attract the attention of new mothers. It is also recommended to take the baby to the hospital for examination as soon as possible. Countermeasures: Ask a doctor to check whether the child has congenital malformations of the digestive tract. Newborns with gray-white stools have had gray-white or clay-colored stools since birth. They have never been yellow, but their urine is yellow. Countermeasures: See a doctor quickly. It is most likely caused by congenital biliary obstruction. Delay in diagnosis and treatment can lead to permanent liver damage. Tofu dregs stool is thin, yellow-green in color with mucus, and sometimes looks like tofu dregs. Countermeasures: This may be fungal enteritis. Babies with fungal enteritis may also suffer from oral thrush. If the child has the above symptoms, he needs to go to the hospital for treatment. Green loose stools are small in amount, frequent, and green mucus-like. Countermeasures: This situation is often caused by insufficient feeding. This kind of stool is also called \”hunger stool\” – your baby has not eaten enough. At this time, as long as you provide sufficient nutrition, the stool can become normal. Oily stool is light yellow, liquid, abundant, shiny like oil, and can slide like oil beads on the diaper or in the potty. Countermeasures: This means that there is too much fat in the food, which is more common in artificially fed babies. It is necessary to increase sugar appropriately or temporarily switch to low-fat milk. Egg drop soup-like stool occurs 5-10 times a day and contains more undigested milk lumps. Countermeasures: More common in babies fed milk powder. If you are breastfeeding, you should continue without changing the feeding method or reducing the amount and frequency of milk. If mixed or artificial feeding is used, the diet structure needs to be adjusted appropriately. You can add more water to the milk powder to make the milk thinner. Rotten Egg Poop Poop smells like rotten eggs. Countermeasures: The baby consumes too much protein or suffers from protein indigestion. Pay attention to the concentration of milk and whether you eat too much, and dilute the milk appropriately. If you have already added complementary foods to your child, you may consider temporarily stopping adding such complementary foods and gradually adding them after the baby\’s stool returns to normal. Separation of water and feces. The water in the feces increases and becomes soup-like. The water and feces are separated, andThe frequency and volume of bowel movements increased. Countermeasures: This is a symptom of morbidity, which is more common in diseases such as enteritis and autumn diarrhea. You should take your child to the hospital immediately and pay attention to the disinfection of baby utensils. What should I do if my baby has abnormal poop? Give your baby time to truly be able to control his own bowel movements by 1.5-2 years old. The previous period of reflex defecation and urination cannot be forced. If the baby cries and refuses to poop or refuses to poop after 5 minutes, divert your attention and the baby\’s gaze to make this unpleasant period pass quickly; next time Come again. Attention requires skills Child experts point out that if special attention is given to a child\’s stool problem over other things, the child will use this opportunity to rebel, passively resist, or fool those around him. The more natural and stress-free the approach, the better for your child’s physical and mental health. Develop the habit of regular defecation in your baby. Babies who grow up healthily can usually defecate on time every day, and most of them defecate after feeding in the morning. At this time, the child is in a stable mood and can easily concentrate on defecation. Therefore, at this time every day, parents can use visual language to help the baby identify the message asking him to defecate and form a conditioned reflex. When your baby is about 1 year old, you can teach him to sit on the potty half an hour after breakfast. When unable to defecate, do not sit in the pot for a long time because it is difficult for children to defecate when their attention is distracted, and sitting in the pot for a long time can easily cause prolapse in some weak children. It is appropriate to sit in the basin for 5-10 minutes each time, and the number of times per day should not be too many. As long as the child\’s energy and appetite are good, weight gain is normal, and the stool is not dry and hard, then even if the child has a bowel movement once every 2-3 days, no special treatment is needed. Let the child accept, rather than reject, help the child understand his body, let him feel that every part of his body is good and useful, and his physiological functions are natural and normal, which is beneficial to the child\’s physical and mental health throughout his life. If children are made to feel repelled by their own bodies and physiological functions, it will affect their body concepts and even sexual concepts when they grow up. Reasons for colorful poop: 1. The main reason is that it comes from food. For example, if a baby eats a lot of carrots, the poop will be red. If the baby eats more green vegetables, the poop will also be greener in color. These are normal phenomena. 2. The direct reason is that the secretion of bile will make the stool appear yellow-green. The longer the stool is in the intestines and the longer the bacteria in the intestines act, the darker the color will be. 3. The second factor is the pH of the food. Acidic stools are yellower in color, while alkaline stools are browner. Therefore, the poop of babies who are fed breast milk is usually golden yellow, while the poop of babies who are fed formula is dark brown. Observing the baby\’s stool can determine diseases. Observing the stool of infants and young children can understand the physiological state of the child\’s digestive system to a certain extent. This provides clues for the judgment of some diseases, and also provides a basis for doctors\’ diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, parents should always observe their children\’s stool to obtain health information. The normal stool of infants and young children, except for newborn babies, is yellow or light yellow in color, soft and long in shape or paste-like, uniform, and free of pus, mucus, and foam. On the contrary, the feces of children who are sick will change. Parents should be good at observing and comparing, and learn from itproblems and resolve them as soon as possible. 1. Egg-shaped stool If egg-shaped stool occurs, it is most likely that the digestive system is abnormal, such as enteritis caused by indigestion, etc. This kind of stool is accompanied by frequent bowel movements (more than 5 times a day), the stool has a sour smell and contains a small amount of mucus. 2. Watery stools. Watery stools are mostly caused by autumn diarrhea, whose scientific name is rotavirus enteritis. At this time, the child will discharge light yellow watery stool or white watery stool. Different from the above situation, the child has less stool, but the quantity is relatively large, and there is no fishy smell. Children may have upper respiratory tract infection symptoms such as fever, cough, and throat congestion. 3. Seawater-like stool. The stool is dark green, like seawater. The reason for this kind of stool may be that the baby has membranous enteritis. Diarrhea is frequent and large, has a putrid odor, and may include membrane-like tissue and mucus. If the child\’s onset is acute, accompanied by vomiting and high fever, he may be dehydrated and his condition is already serious, and he must be sent to the hospital quickly for emergency treatment. 4. Rice swill-like stool If the baby\’s stool is rice swill-like and occurs frequently, cholera or paracholera should be considered. Cholera and paracholera have an acute onset, accompanied by frequent vomiting, dehydration, muscle cramps, pain and circulatory failure, which are very dangerous. When this happens, the child should be sent to the hospital immediately for rescue. 5. Foamy stool is brown watery stool with a lot of foam and a strong sour smell. This is caused by the fact that babies eat too much starchy foods, such as rice cereal, cakes, etc. Due to the action of bacteria, intestinal fermentation produces more carbon dioxide gas. These gases cause intestinal peristalsis and cause diarrhea. 6. Infants and young children infected with Candida albicans often pass yellow stools with mucus, and sometimes have tofu-like stools. 7. Mucoid stool: The feces of infants and young children are mixed with pus, blood and mucus, which can be seen in pathogenic Escherichia coli enteritis, colitis or chronic bacillary dysentery. 8. Pus, blood and mucus in the feces of infants and young children are mixed with pus, blood and mucus, which indicates that the child may have bacillary dysentery. At this time, the sick child has frequent bowel movements but not large amounts, abdominal pain, and crying before defecation. If accompanied by high fever and convulsions, it may be toxic dysentery. 9. Bloody stool: There is blood on the surface of the stool or after the stool, or blood dripping from the stool. This may be caused by anal fissure or rectal polyps. 10. Jam-like stool is red sticky jelly-like stool mixed with blood and mucus, which is common in amoebic dysentery and intussusception. The latter is an acute abdomen common in infants aged 5 to 10 months. In addition to passing jam-like stools (with less stool content), it is also accompanied by paroxysmal crying. Because of abdominal pain and repeated vomiting, the baby sometimes has a shock-like face. 11. Bloody stool. Brown bloody stool, like red bean soup, is more common in infants and young children with hemorrhagic necrotizing enteritis. Children often have symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, high fever, and toxic shock. 12. Dark red bloody stools and tarry stools. Dark red or black tarry stools, also known as melena, indicate that the baby\’s upper gastrointestinal tract may be bleeding heavily. The cause may be gastroduodenal ulcer or Meckel\’s diverticulum. Bleeding caused by inflammation. In this case, parents should send the child immediatelyGo to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment. 13. The feces of children with kaolin-like stools is white and clay-like. The reason is that the bile duct is partially blocked, so that bile cannot enter the intestines. As a result, the bilirubin metabolites biliverdin and biliogen cannot be formed, and the stool cannot become normal. It is light yellow and appears to be white clay-like or even lime-like (complete bile obstruction), which is very dangerous. Parents should take their children to the emergency center immediately for rescue. 14. Fat-containing bile and pancreatic juice can help digest and absorb fat. If there is too much fat in the food, the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas functions of infants and young children will be impaired, and the fat in the food cannot be digested and absorbed well, fatty diarrhea will occur. In this way, each defecation will be large and gray-white. It is in paste or liquid form, looks like cream, and has an oily color. At the same time, fatty stool also has a rancid smell. The appearance of stool is a window to understand the function of the digestive system of infants and young children. Parents should initially judge whether the child has a disease by observing the stool of infants and young children, so as to facilitate early detection and timely diagnosis and treatment. Neonatal diarrhea \”watch the poop\” If you had known that neonatal diarrhea is the most common gastrointestinal disease in the neonatal period, newborns have poor immune function, especially the intestinal immunity. When the intestinal infection occurs, they will not be able to treat it Attenuate and neutralize bacterial virulence. In addition, the fetus in the womb grows in a sterile greenhouse environment and falls into an environment contaminated by numerous bacteria and viruses immediately after birth. The resistance is too weak, and the digestive function and the regulation of various system functions are also relatively poor. Therefore, the newborn Children are prone to digestive disorders and infectious diarrhea. \”Poop\” disease diagnosis The stool characteristics of newborns vary depending on the food they eat. If you are breastfeeding, your stool will be golden yellow and mushy, usually 2-4 times a day. The stools of babies fed formula milk are mostly light yellow or earthy gray, relatively dry, 1-2 times a day. Some newborns have delicate intestinal mucosa, and occasionally they are fed improperly, or have several loose stools for no apparent reason; but if they pay attention to feeding, the diarrhea will be corrected quickly, which is transient indigestion. Don\’t worry. If the newborn has more bowel movements than before, more than 4-5 times a day, and the nature of the stool is abnormal, egg-shaped or watery, with a large number of milk flaps, loss of appetite, poor energy, and weight loss, it will not be easy to adjust the diet. Things are getting better, now mom should pay attention! Why does neonatal diarrhea occur? The intestines of newborns are delicate, and there are many causes of diarrhea. 1. Improper feeding: The gastrointestinal tract of newborns is not mature enough and has relatively few digestive enzymes. During the feeding process, too many feedings, a large amount each time, or adding a large amount of starchy food too early, or the temperature of formula milk or milk being too hot or too cold during artificial feeding can cause increased intestinal peristalsis. Increased frequency of bowel movements. 2. Infection Intestinal infection Intestinal infection mainly occurs in newborns who are artificially fed or mixed fed. The disease is introduced through the mouth due to unclean milk utensils. The most serious one is neonatal epidemic diarrhea, which is often prevalent in obstetrical nurseries or neonatal wards. The germs are passed to the newborn through the mother\’s birth canal, and then the germs are spread by the hands of medical staff. It can be caused by different pathogens, with pathogenic Escherichia coli and rotavirus being the most common. Severe cases often threaten life.Life. Parenteral infection: Parenteral infection is mainly due to the influence of pathogenic toxins or imperfect development of the nervous system, resulting in digestive system dysfunction, increased intestinal motility, and diarrhea. This type of diarrhea is generally free of mucus, pus, blood and fishy odor and is less frequent. When newborns suffer from pneumonia and sepsis, bacteria can sometimes penetrate the intestinal wall from outside the intestine or blood and penetrate into the intestine, causing enteritis. Bacterial and viral infections Bacterial and viral infections mainly occur when the mother\’s nipples or underwear are not hygienic during feeding, her hands are not washed cleanly, or the utensils used when feeding formula or milk are not clean, which can bring bacteria or viruses to newborns, causing diarrhea. Sometimes there are cold patients at home, and the virus can be transmitted to newborns, causing enteritis. Some newborns suffering from respiratory diseases such as pneumonia can also cause diarrhea in newborns due to weakened resistance or toxins acting on the intestines. 3. The digestive function of newborns is immature. The digestive enzymes of full-term infants, except pancreatic amylase, are sufficient to digest protein and fat. However, premature infants are deficient in various digestive enzymes, secrete less bile acid, and cannot emulsify fat. At the same time, newborns develop relatively quickly and require a lot of calories and nutrients. If they are fed or cared for improperly and fed milk cakes, rice noodles and other foods too early, they can cause indigestion and diarrhea. The severity of diarrhea varies. Children with mild diarrhea may only show simple gastrointestinal symptoms, with diarrhea 5-6 times or even more than 10 times a day. Severe diarrhea may also include low fever, poor feeding, vomiting, mental weakness, and mild abdominal distension. , crying, dry lips, sunken anterior fontanelle. In severe cases, the stool will be watery and the frequency of diarrhea may increase to 10-20 times per day. May be accompanied by high fever, vomiting, oliguria, and lethargy. Caring for babies with diarrhea If not cared for properly, the condition can be prolonged for a long time, so mothers should know the correct care methods. Do not abuse antibiotics. Most newborn diarrhea is caused by viruses or improper diet. Antibiotic drugs are not only ineffective against diarrhea caused by these reasons, but will destroy the normal flora in the intestines, cause flora disorder and aggravate diarrhea. Generally, diarrhea with watery stools is mostly caused by viruses or non-invasive bacteria. There is no need to take antibiotics. Bifidobacterium preparations, lactobacilli tablets, Smecta, etc. can be used. Mucus, pus and blood in stools are mostly caused by invasive bacteria and should be treated with antibiotics. Use antibiotics against pathogens. The simplest way is to send your baby\’s poop to the hospital for a test to find out at a glance. Adjust your diet so that you don’t fast immediately when your baby has diarrhea. In cases where large amounts of fluid are lost due to diarrhea, fasting can aggravate dehydration and acidosis. At the same time, eating too little will make the baby hungry, causing increased intestinal motility and excessive secretion of digestive juices in the intestinal mucosa, aggravating diarrhea. Feeding methods should be adjusted appropriately. Breastfeeding is encouraged because breast milk is easy to digest and absorb. Appropriately shorten the time of each breastfeeding. This is because the fat content in the back part of breast milk is higher. You should feed an appropriate amount of boiled water before breastfeeding. Artificial feeders should dilute the formula milk twice with boiled water, and gradually increase the amount from small to large. Pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene. Special attention should be paid to food hygiene for artificially fed babies. The utensils used by babies must be boiled and disinfected once a day. Newborn diarrhea mainly relies on prevention. Wash the baby\’s buttocks with warm water after each bowel movement, and then use a soft cloth to absorb the baby\’s diarrhea.Dry. If there is redness around the anus, you can apply tannic acid ointment to prevent diaper rash and secondary infection. At the same time, you should also pay attention to changing diapers frequently. It is best to use soft and breathable pure cotton fabrics for diapers. When taking medicine, pay attention to mucosal protective agents such as Smecta, which cover the intestinal mucosa and absorb pathogens and toxins. Therefore, you should take medicine on an empty stomach. Do not eat immediately after taking medicine. At the same time, pay attention to the ratio of medicine to water, so as to protect the mucosal membrane. effect. Microecological preparations such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli can regulate and restore intestinal flora to control diarrhea. Since this type of medicine is a preparation of live bacteria, it must not be taken with hot water or taken together with antibiotics. It is also best to take Western medicine and Chinese medicine separately. Warm reminder: 1. Take your baby to the hospital for a stool test in time to find out what is causing the diarrhea so that you can use the medicine correctly. 2. Babies suffering from diarrhea should pay attention to keeping their abdomen warm. You can wrap the abdomen with a towel or use a hot water bottle to apply heat to the abdomen, and let the baby rest more. 3. After returning home, parents should carefully observe the newborn for cold hands and feet, scratchy skin, deep and long breathing, and cherry-red lips. When changing diapers, it is found that the baby has poor reaction, purple around the mouth and nose, dry lips, and sunken eye sockets. If this happens, parents must not be careless and need to go to the hospital for infusion treatment. Knowledge link: Antidiarrheal milk powder is not an antidiarrheal agent for treating intestinal infections. Currently, there is an \”antidiarrheal milk powder\” on the market. Many parents also give this milk powder to their babies when they have diarrhea due to infection with viruses or bacteria. They hope to have it available as soon as possible. Stop diarrhea. But in fact, the baby did not stop diarrhea quickly after drinking this milk powder, so the parents were disappointed and thought it had no effect, so they switched to other milk powder. In fact, the so-called \”anti-diarrheal milk powder\” is not used to stop diarrhea, nor does it have anti-diarrheal function. It is just a lactose-free formula developed for children with lactose intolerance or diarrhea caused by lactase deficiency due to enteritis. , a formula that is replaced by other sugars. This formula not only does not contain lactose, but its protein composition has also been changed. Its function is not to directly stop diarrhea, but is a special formula used during diarrhea that is more suitable for the intestinal absorption conditions at that time. Baby diarrhea diet therapy can treat food-injury type, wind-cold type, damp-heat type and spleen deficiency type. Only by distinguishing different symptoms and choosing dietary therapy can you achieve the desired results. Food-related diarrhea has symptoms such as abdominal distension and pain, crying before diarrhea, sour and smelly stools like egg drops, bad breath, and lack of appetite. The following dietary treatments can be used: Shepherd\’s purse soup: Take 30g of fresh shepherd\’s purse, add 200ml of water, Fry over low heat to 50ml and take it once, 2-3 times a day. Apple soup: Wash 1 apple, chop it into pieces with the skin on, add 250ml of water and a small amount of salt, and make a decoction instead of tea. It is suitable for children under 1 year old. Children older than 1 year old can eat apple puree. Wind-cold diarrhea: Wind-cold diarrhea has thin, foamy stools with light color, little odor, bowel sounds and abdominal pain, or is accompanied by symptoms such as fever, nasal congestion and runny nose. The following dietary treatments can be used: Ginger tea drink: take green tea, dried ginger shreds 3g of each, put in a porcelain cup, brew with 150ml of boiling water, cover and soak for 10 minutes instead of tea and drink as desired. Glutinous Rice Guchang Soup: 30g glutinous rice (slightly stir-fried), 15g yam, cook porridge together, add minced pepper when cookedMix with a little sugar and appropriate amount of sugar. Damp-heat type diarrhea: Damp-heat type diarrhea has symptoms such as watery stools accompanied by indigestible food, grass green or yellow color, a small amount of mucus, and yellowish urine. The following dietary treatments can be used: Black plum soup: 10 dark plums, add 500ml of water and decoct. Add brown sugar to the drink, replace it with tea, and take it several times a day. Orange date tea: Take 10 red dates, wash and dry them, fry them in an iron pot, take 10g of clean orange peel, put the two flavors together into a thermos cup, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes, drink tea after meals, daily Take 2 times. Spleen deficiency type diarrhea. Spleen deficiency type diarrhea sometimes stops, or persists for a long time, with thin stools or white milk lumps, diarrhea after eating, pale complexion and other symptoms. The following dietary treatments can be used: Carrot soup: take 250g of fresh carrots and wash them , cut into pieces with the skin, put in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water and fry until tender, remove the residue and extract the juice. Divide 2-3 times a day. Chestnut soup: Take 3-5 chestnuts, peel and mash them, add appropriate amount of water and boil into a paste, add appropriate amount of sugar to taste, divide 2-3 times a day. Don’t “wait and see” if your baby has dry stools. If your baby is eating formula, or is fed a mixture of breast milk and formula, does your child have dry stools? If this is the case, young parents should not “wait and see.” According to the chief physician of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, there are now relatively few children who rely solely on breast milk. More than two-thirds of babies under 4 months of age are fed solely with formula milk, or with a mixture of formula milk powder and breast milk. Ms. Wang\’s baby is more than one month old. Due to insufficient breast milk, the baby mainly relies on formula milk. Recently, the baby has a bowel movement only once every two days on average, and every time he has a bowel movement, the baby\’s little fists are clenched tightly, his little face is red, and the stool is dry and molded. Why do such young children have dry stools? Ms. Wang decided to see a Chinese medicine doctor for a look. The director of pediatrics at a hospital of traditional Chinese medicine told Ms. Wang that loose stools in infants are generally considered to be caused by breastfeeding. Children who are fed formula milk alone or fed a mixture of breast milk and milk powder are more likely to have dry and hard stools. Experts particularly remind young parents that babies eating formula milk can easily cause internal heat, and the external manifestation is likely to be dry stool. If adults just want to \”wait and see\” at this time, it will not only aggravate the symptoms, but also cause digestive dysfunction in children. . What\’s more serious is that persistent difficulty in defecation will cause children to have a psychological fear of defecation, causing them to instinctively resist defecation, which may lead to habitual constipation, so they must not be taken lightly. What should you do if your child has dry stool? 1. Replenish water appropriately. For babies who are fed every 4 hours, water should be added between two feedings. 2. For babies over 1 month old, you can boil cabbage and radish in water and give it to the baby to drink. Drinking fresh reed roots boiled in water is effective in clearing away internal heat. In order to make the taste better, you can add some sugar to the soup. 3. You can gently massage in a clockwise direction near the child\’s navel to help the baby digest and defecate. 4. If your child has severe dry stools, you can take children\’s food pills, 1-2 times a day, 1/4 pill each time. 5. It should be reminded that if breast milk and milk powder are mixedIf the baby is fed together, the mother who is breastfeeding should avoid eating spicy, fatty, dry and thick foods. 6. If the child does not defecate for several days, he should go to the hospital in time. Eating breast milk can also cause constipation. Japanese experts found through surveys that most children who often skip breakfast have constipation. Comparing them with children who eat breakfast, it is obvious that children who eat breakfast have more bowel movements every day. Why is this happening? Experts believe that skipping breakfast will reduce the food intake of these children, resulting in insufficient dietary fiber intake necessary for defecation. If you don\’t actively change the way you eat, your baby\’s constipation will not be cured. Is the baby\’s constipation related to eating? The answer is yes. Babies between 0 and 6 months old generally feed on milk; babies between 6 and 12 months old start to add a lot of complementary foods, so the causes of their constipation are not exactly the same. For babies born between 0 and 6 months old, some are exclusively breastfed, while others are artificially fed. If constipation occurs, it must be related to breast milk or milk powder. Constipation after breastfeeding. After the food that causes constipation after breastfeeding is digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, the food residue will be pushed to the large intestine, where the large intestine will absorb excess water and then form feces. If the stool is dry, hard and pill-shaped, it is difficult to defecate, and the stool is less than twice a week, it is considered constipation. Anything that slows down intestinal motility can lead to constipation. The most common ones are: insufficient water intake, insufficient fiber intake, and insufficient food intake. In addition, because the baby\’s anal sphincter is not yet mature, sometimes he cannot defecate smoothly, or due to the hot climate, water evaporates during sweating, urination, skin and breathing, resulting in more water loss. These are also the reasons for dry and hard stool. Baby constipation how to do? 1. To relieve your baby\’s constipation, you must first pay attention to eating. Your baby will grow and develop vigorously, so you need to take in enough milk. If you add milk powder, you must pay attention to the preparation method and add a little boiled water to the baby between meals (if the conditions are good, you can install an energy water machine at home so that the baby can drink high-quality running water). At the same time, avoid putting clothes on the baby. Overwear and avoid sweating too much. 2. Feed juice to the baby. Babies over 4 months old can be given some juice, such as orange juice, pear juice, date juice, etc., and an appropriate amount of boiled water every day. This can help intestinal peristalsis and allow him to defecate smoothly. 3. Do abdominal massage. One hour after the baby drinks milk, use your index finger and middle finger to gently massage around the belly button in a clockwise direction for about 10 minutes. 4. Cultivate the baby\’s habit of regular defecation. Start training from the first month. First, find out the baby\’s regularity and pay attention to some symptoms before defecation, such as blushing, staring, concentrating, mumbling, etc. After the baby\’s defecation becomes more regular, the baby can defecate regularly every day. Shit and piss. After the baby can sit, he can be trained to use the potty, but be careful not to let the child develop the bad habit of eating while sitting on the potty. 5. Mother\’s diet also affects the baby\’s stool. Breast milk can also affect the baby. Babies with poor digestive function often have excessive farts and dry stools. It is recommended that mothers add some vegetables and fruits containing fiber and more water during lactation, such as soy milk, tofu, mushrooms, seaweed, beans, green vegetables, bananas, etc., or some healthy foods such as spirulina and wheat grass powder. If the mother does not Eat or eat lessGinger, pepper, yam and other foods that can aggravate constipation, as well as drinks such as wine and tea. At present, in addition to insisting on breastfeeding, children must be fed a small amount of vegetable juice and rice soup every day to help intestinal peristalsis and promote defecation. And defecate on time every day to make the patient feel the urge to defecate. After 4 months, complementary foods such as vegetable puree and fruit puree must be added in time. 6. Babies must try to avoid taking drugs that can cause constipation. When dietary adjustments are ineffective, you can take Chinese patent medicines such as Simo Decoction to moisten the intestines and relieve constipation. Tips: When you have not defecated for 5-6 days, are not eating enough milk, and are in poor spirits, you can use soap to cut into a cone shape the size of an adult\’s little finger, soak it in warm water, and insert it into the anus for defecation after the soap is slightly soft. External laxative methods are only used occasionally as a last resort and should not be used every day to avoid dependence. If necessary, you can take your child to the hospital to see a doctor to rule out surgical diseases such as congenital megacolon and intestinal obstruction. Constipation caused by breastfeeding is rare, but it may still occur. The main reasons are as follows: Reason: Insufficient breast milk. If the mother\’s milk is insufficient, the baby will always be in a state of semi-hungry and may not have a bowel movement until 2-3 days. 1 time. In addition to less frequent bowel movements, there are also symptoms of insufficient breast milk, such as breastfeeding for longer than 20 minutes, lack of satisfaction after eating, slow weight gain, trouble sleeping, etc. Countermeasures: Supplement formula milk powder in time, and the baby\’s condition will improve immediately. Reason: The protein content of breast milk is too high. The mother\’s diet directly affects the quality of breast milk. If the mother drinks protein-rich soups such as pig\’s trotter soup, chicken soup, etc., there will be too much protein in the milk. After the baby eats, The stool is alkaline, hard and dry, and difficult to pass. Countermeasures: Mothers should ensure a balanced diet, eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, drink more water or porridge, appropriate amounts of soup, and avoid too greasy food. If a baby is constipated, when should he be sent to the doctor? When you find that a constipated baby has the following symptoms, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. 1. Activity becomes worse. 2. Appetite changes, that is, the amount of milk consumed decreases or milk is easily vomited. 3. Crying and restless. 4. Fever. 5. Rash. Artificial feeding is prone to constipation. Babies who are fed formula milk powder are particularly prone to constipation. The main reasons are as follows: Reason: Milk powder is not easy to digest. The raw material of milk powder is milk. Milk contains a lot of casein and high calcium salt content. In the presence of gastric acid, It tends to form lumps under the influence and is difficult to digest. Countermeasures: Formula milk powder should be prepared according to the instructions, and do not prepare it too thickly; give the baby some water or juice between two feedings (such as squeezing half an orange and adding the same amount of warm water); adding a spoonful of sugar to the milk can also Effectively relieve constipation. Reason: Formula milk powder is made from milk, and various nutrients are added to it. Some babies\’ gastrointestinal discomfort is not adapted to a certain milk powder, so that they will not pass out after drinking a specific brand of milk powder. This is generally related to the baby\’s stomach and intestines, and each baby\’s physique is different. Some babies are not adaptable to foreign brands of milk powder, but they are fine if they drink domestic brands of milk powder. Countermeasures: Try changing to other brands of milk powder; in addition, milk powder with added bifidobacteria can help prevent constipation in babies. Mothers may wish to purchase such milk powder when purchasing. Complementary feeding: Babies at this time of 6-12 months have already added various complementary foods, soThe problems that arise will follow. 1. Reason: The baby eats too little. The baby eats too little. After the food is digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, there is little food residue left, which does not produce much pressure in the colon, so there is no need to defecate. Countermeasures: The baby\’s lack of food may be related to the lack of certain nutrients. You can check the trace elements for the baby: the mother should also try to make the meals more beautiful to stimulate the baby\’s appetite. 2. Reason: Some babies with partial eclipse eat too much meat and too little vegetables and fruits, so the food contains more protein and less fiber. If there is a lot of protein content, the stool will be alkaline and dry easily; if the plant cellulose content is too little, the contents of the colon will be small, the intestines will lack stimulation, and it will be difficult to have a bowel movement. Some children like to eat dry food and drink too little water, resulting in insufficient intestinal stimulation and prone to constipation. Countermeasures: First of all, you should feed your baby more pureed vegetables and fruits. The ratio of the amount of vegetables and fruits to meat should be at least 3:1, that is to say, eat three mouthfuls of vegetables and eat one spoonful of meat; for babies who don’t like vegetables, Mother can chop the vegetables and put them together with the meat to make small dumplings. She can also use the vegetables to cook porridge or noodles to increase the amount of vegetables eaten. If your baby doesn\’t like to drink boiled water, you can add some juice to the water. It\’s also good to use Qiuli ointment to rinse the water. But don’t substitute Coke, Sprite and other drinks. 3. Reason: Failure to develop good defecation habits. If you develop the habit of defecating regularly every day, you will want to defecate as soon as the time is up. In this way, the feces will stay in the colon for a short time, and the stool will not be too dry and can be easily excreted. Some babies feel pain due to dry stools, which can cause anal fissures during defecation. Children dare not defecate because they are afraid of pain. The longer the interval, the more serious the constipation will be. Countermeasures: Let your baby sit on the potty to defecate every morning and develop a habit. How to help babies improve constipation? Why hasn’t my baby pooped out for 2 days? What’s wrong? It may be a bit exaggerated to say that the mother\’s most concerned issue is the baby\’s \”convenience\”, but it is not an exaggeration to say that it is one of the most concerned issues. If the baby hasn\’t defecated in two days, you see, the mother\’s face will turn from sunny to cloudy. What is constipation? If feces accumulates in the colon for too long, water will be absorbed excessively, causing the feces to be too dry and causing difficulty in defecation. If there is no defecation for more than two days, it can be judged as constipation. What does a normal newborn\’s stool look like? 1. The stool of a breastfed baby is yellow or golden, uniform in consistency, ointment-like, may have small particles, may be slightly thin occasionally, and may be tinged with a small amount of green. If the milk contains more carbohydrates, which we usually call sugar, it will ferment in the intestines, making the stool soft and containing a lot of foam, which can increase the frequency of defecation. 2. If artificially fed newborns are mainly fed milk, their stools will be light yellow, dry in texture, and have an obvious odor. This is because milk contains high protein, which is smelly when decomposed. There may be white milk lumps in the stool. This is because milk contains a large amount of complex protein, which easily combines with calcium to form soap calcium during digestion. Causes of constipation in newborns (less than 28 days after birth) 1. Artificial feeding: milk containsToo much soap calcium can easily cause dry stools, leading to constipation. 2. Insufficient milk supply: If a child eats less milk, vomits more, or takes fluids, it may cause temporary inability to defecate. In addition, the muscular layer of the digestive tract of newborns is not fully developed, which can easily cause constipation and may also be accompanied by vomiting. As long as the child does not lose weight, vomiting and constipation are normal. 3. Surgical diseases: Possible malformations include intestinal atresia, intestinal stenosis, intestinal malrotation, congenital megacolon, congenital anus, sacrococcygeal spina bifida, meningocele, tumors compressing the cauda equina nerve, etc. These diseases It is often accompanied by severe vomiting and abdominal distension, which requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. The reasons for constipation in infants (referring to children under 1 year old) are: 1. The food contains less fiber: causing dry and hard stools, so vegetable foods can be added appropriately. 2. Failure to develop the habit of defecation on time: Children who do not develop a good defecation routine can easily cause constipation. Therefore, it is necessary to train defecation regularly every day and establish a certain defecation conditioned reflex, so as to develop a good habit of defecation. 3. Mental factors: If the child is suddenly mentally stimulated, or the living environment and living habits suddenly change, it may also cause short-term constipation. In addition, children with hypothyroidism are prone to constipation, but such children are also accompanied by other symptoms. In addition, if there is a family history of constipation, or familial intestinal elongation, constipation may also occur, which may be related to genetics. There are many adverse consequences of constipation. The most direct consequence is anal fissure, which can cause blood dripping after defecation and perianal pain. Children who feel pain after defecation will be reluctant to defecate, which will further cause constipation and form a vicious cycle. Children with severe constipation may also develop external hemorrhoids. In addition, children with chronic constipation are often accompanied by loss of appetite, which leads to malnutrition, listlessness, and intestinal dysfunction, which will make constipation worse. How to help babies relieve constipation? Treatment of constipation in breastfed babies: Breastfeed as much as possible because breastfed babies are less likely to become constipated. If constipation occurs, you can feed vegetable water or juice with added sugar. 1. When adding complementary foods, constipation treatment: you can eat pureed vegetables, fruits, corn flour, oatmeal, etc. 2. Massage the abdomen appropriately: Massage the left lower abdomen. If a cord-like object is touched, massage gently from top to bottom to promote the downward discharge of stool. 3. Properly massage the child’s anus: This can cause physiological reflexes and promote defecation. 4. Exercise appropriately to promote the downward movement of stool and cause defecation. 5. Artificial defecation: Use paraffin oil, kaiselu, small soap bars, etc. to defecate and train defecation habits (only used when constipation is severe). 6. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment: Traditional Chinese medicine that can clear away heat, detoxify, and moisturize the intestines and relieve constipation can be used appropriately (with the guidance of a doctor).