Types of Baby Poop and What It Says About Your Baby’s Health

A baby’s digestive system which is in developing state is too sensitive. Any slight change in the baby’s diet affects the baby’s poop. It is hard to not notice the changes when you are changing baby’s diapers. You will notice major changes in the baby’s poop when you start using breast milk substitutes and when the baby starts eating actual food. 

A few types of baby poops are listed below.       

1. Newborn babies

Newborn babies have a greenish-black poop. It is tar-like and sticky and looks like motor oil. It is called meconium and is made up of skin cells, amniotic fluid, and mucus among other things. Two to four days later, the baby poop is in the form of green stools that are less sticky than meconium.

2. Breastfed babies

Breastfed baby poop is mustard yellow or brown colour and is considered to be normal. It is pasty in texture and can be runny enough to give the impression of diarrhoea. Healthy breastfed stools can be sweet smelling, unlike regular poop odour.

3. Formula-fed babies

When the baby is being fed a formula, the poop colour is yellow or brown with a pasty appearance that resembles peanut butter. The stools are bigger and have more odour than breastfed babies.

4. Food chunks in poop

Not all food that the baby eats is digested completely. Some foods travel their way out through large intestines without breaking down. Thus, chunks appear in the baby poop to give it a different colour.

Baby poop changes colour according to the diet that is taken by the baby. There is no need to worry about the different shades of the poop colour. Baby poops can also be discerned according to colours.

5. Green poop

Babies who are taking a diet rich in iron or being given iron supplements often have green poop. It can also occur when you introduce your baby to foods like peas, spinach and beans, etc.

6. Orange/Yellow/Brown poop

Baby poop that is orange or yellow or brown is completely normal for breastfed babies.

7. Black blood in poop

You may sometimes notice black specks in the baby’s poop. It happens when the baby is breastfeeding on his or her mother’s cracked nipples. Although it is nothing to worry about for baby’s health, checking up with a doctor would be a good idea.

Now, we are listing some signs that if you see, you should take them seriously and immediately contact your doctor.

8. Runny poop

If the poop is runny and green or yellow or brown, it is a sign of diarrhoea. If not treated at the earliest, it may cause dehydration.

9. Hard pebble-like poop

If the poop looks like pebbles and is in the form of hard chunks, it can be because your baby is suffering from constipation. It can happen when the baby is being introduced to the solid foods. It can also be due to lack of tolerance to some food products.

10. Red blood in poop

Poop can turn red in colour due to the food he or she ate. Red blood in normal poop can be a sign of milk protein allergy. Red blood in diarrhoea can be due to bacterial infection in the baby.

11. Mucus in poop

Mucus, which looks like slimy green coloured streaks, in baby’s poop can be a sign of some infection.

12. White poop

Chalky white poop is a sign of improper digestion. It means that the baby is not digesting the food properly. White colour indicates the lack of bile from the liver to properly digest the food.