When preparing for childbirth, it is important for all expectant mothers to know what color the feces of newborns are usually of, where it is taken and why it is needed. The appearance of a dark sticky mass in a baby in a diaper is a good sign, which indicates that the baby's intestines have begun to function properly.
Meconium in a diaper for a newborn
What is meconium
Meconium is the original feces that is formed in the intestines of the fetus in the womb. The poop of a newborn consists of cells lining the intestinal mucosa, a small amount of bile, amniotic fluid that was swallowed by a child, mucus, secretions of the digestive glands, hair. Also in meconium there are small droplets of fat and a green-yellow, orange pigment - bilirubin.
Norms of indicators of original feces
Meconium in newborns does not have any strong odor. The consistency of this mixture is viscous and sticky, like resin. The color of the original feces in a newborn can be dark green or green-black, eggplant. The greenish or boggy shade of feces is given by the content of bilirubin in it, which is formed during the breakdown of red blood cells.
The number of bowel movements on average reaches 60-100 grams. Feces of a newborn is usually sterile and does not contain any germs.
Important! If the baby's poop is green and has a pronounced putrefactive aroma, this may be a sign of dysbiosis or lactase deficiency.
Pampers with feces
When should meconium leave?
How many days does meconium take in newborns? As a rule, in four out of five babies, the first portion of feces comes out 8-10 hours after birth or directly during labor. Within 2-3 days, the meconium completely leaves the baby's intestines, and the baby begins to have transitional stools (it may contain milk particles and meconium residues). At the age of one week, the baby's stool is completely normal.
Since the original feces have a very viscous consistency, it is rather difficult for a newborn to excrete it. In those children whose mother began to breastfeed immediately after childbirth, meconium leaves much faster. This is due to the fact that colostrum released from the breast contains a sufficient amount of nutrients and has a mild laxative effect on the baby's body.
Note! While in the womb, meconium is excreted by about 10% of babies, the remaining 90% get rid of the original feces during the labor process or within 2-3 days after birth. Komarovsky states that the passage of meconium after 24 hours is the norm.
Since meconium has a sticky and viscous consistency, it is not easy to wipe it off the baby's skin - it cannot be washed off with ordinary running water and soap. In order to easily wash it off and not harm the baby at the same time, it is better to use a special baby oil, gel or diaper cream. Dropping a few drops of the product on a cotton pad, you can easily wipe off the stuck poop from the priests and wash the baby in the shower. In order not to injure the baby, rubbing the delicate skin is not worth much.
Newborn baby diaper change process
Why meconium does not leave
If the original feces (another name is meconium) does not leave the intestines of the newborn during the first day of life, this is considered a delay in the passage of meconium. This situation can happen for several reasons.
Possible reasons
The most basic reasons why there is a delay in the release of meconium:
- Congenital pathology of the digestive tract, which leads to the fact that patency is impaired;
- A condition called Hirschsprung's syndrome. Congenital anomaly in which the nerve fibers of the intestine are missing or underdeveloped, which are responsible for regulating its motility. In this condition, obstruction of the affected area occurs. The intestines are full of fetid feces and are greatly enlarged;
- Underdevelopment of the function of the digestive tract. In this case, the secretion, intestinal peristalsis decrease, this causes blockage of the feces;
- Cystic fibrosis. It is a severe congenital disorder that is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. With such a deviation, the secret of the pancreas acquires a viscous consistency. The organ begins to produce an insufficient amount of the necessary enzymes. The absorption of fluid begins to increase from the intestinal lumen. With such an anomaly, the consistency and the process of meconium discharge change;
- Meconium plug syndrome. Occurs with the accumulation of original feces in the large intestine. This can occur due to a violation of the motility of this organ. Meconium plug syndrome most often occurs in babies who are born to mothers with hypermagnesemia or diabetes mellitus.
Infant with gastrointestinal pathology
Meconium ileus
Meconium ileus is a congenital pathology in which obstruction and blockage of the large intestine occur with original feces. In 15 out of 100 premature babies, such an anomaly occurs together with cystic fibrosis, a systemic disease that disrupts the proper functioning of the respiratory, reproductive, and digestive organs.
Additional Information. Meconium ileus begins to develop due to the lack of a pancreatic enzyme (trypsin). The lack of this hydrolase in the body provokes an increase in the viscosity of the secretion of the gastrointestinal tract. Because of this, the feces becomes similar to caviar, sticks to the intestinal mucosa and cannot go out of the rectum.
Symptoms
The main symptom of meconium ileus appears during the first two days of a newborn's life. You can suspect that something is wrong with the baby by the absence of a chair within 1-2 days after birth. On the second or third day, the baby's condition begins to deteriorate. The child is very restless and cries constantly. He stops eating and cannot sleep normally. The baby begins to spit up often. In the vomit, you can notice an admixture of feces and bile.
As the disease progresses, additional symptoms are added:
- The stomach swells and begins to ache sharply;
- Decreases skin turgor;
- The skin turns pale;
- The child develops a pronounced apathy;
- The kid becomes very sedentary.
Then clear signs of dehydration and intoxication begin to join:
- Heart rate accelerates;
- Blood pressure rises;
- The baby is very thirsty;
- The dryness of the skin increases.
Intestinal obstruction can be easily detected by palpation of the anterior abdominal wall - through the baby's soft tummy, you can clearly feel the blockage of fecal masses. In this case, the child needs help as soon as possible.
Baby crying
Diagnostic methods
To confirm the diagnosis and identify the cause of the pathology, the doctor usually prescribes the following diagnostic methods:
- Plain X-ray of the abdomen. The picture shows swollen intestinal loops. The presence of gases and solid meconium will look like frosted glass and soap bubbles.
- Irrigography. Gastrografin is injected into the rectum through an enema and an x-ray is taken. With meconium ileus, the large intestine will be empty, it will be very narrow, and filling anomalies will be visible in the distal ileus - hard lumps of original feces. With the help of this study, you can easily determine the place of intestinal blockage.
- Computed tomography. With the help of such a diagnosis, you can find the causes of intestinal obstruction, conduct an X-ray examination from different angles, then get a three-dimensional drawing on a computer monitor.
- Ultrasound. After conducting such a study, you can see structural abnormalities in the abdominal organs, pseudocysts, calcifications in the intestine.
- Sweat test. With the help of such a test, it is possible to determine the presence of chlorides in the secretion of the sweat glands. This is the most important laboratory test that helps diagnose cystic fibrosis. The test is performed on all newborns with meconium ileus.
What is dangerous for a child's life
The most dangerous consequences of this condition are necrosis of all intestinal parts and inflammation of the abdominal cavity (peritonitis). Other extremely undesirable consequences include perforation of the large intestine, neoplasms in the form of pseudocysts, and very strong intoxication of the body with feces.
When to call a doctor
Problems with the discharge of the original stool can occur during the first 1-2 days of a newborn's life, they can be diagnosed even in the maternity hospital during the examination of the baby by a pediatric neonatologist.
While in the maternity hospital, all mothers need to know when to urgently seek help from a doctor:
- The child started vomiting;
- The crumbs have increased body temperature;
- The baby has no bowel movements for more than 24 hours after birth;
- The baby cries for a long time and behaves restlessly;
- The newborn refuses to eat.
Crying baby
Normal transformation of stool in children
It is worth considering the stool of a newborn child, the norm and deviations. 5-7 days after birth, when the original feces come out completely, the newborn's stool becomes infantile, acquires a yellowish color, mushy consistency, and there may also be a sour smell of feces in infants.
Important! The sour smell of feces in a baby on gv is the norm if nothing bothers him, and the stool has a normal consistency.
Normally, the feces of a newborn can have all shades of yellow and brown. Even a slightly greenish tint will be normal due to the baby's increased bilirubin levels. As soon as the correct functioning of the enzymes responsible for digestion is adjusted, everything will return to normal. Sometimes the stool may contain mixed lumps and streaks of undigested food.
Stools in a 1-month old baby may be too watery, like diarrhea, or thick, like sour cream. You should only worry if you have too liquid or too hard-formed black stool, which contains streaks of blood and may smell bad.
Stool in a 3-month-old breastfed baby can be very frequent, after almost every meal. Stool up to ten times a day - this can be called a variant of the norm.
As the baby grows, the frequency of defecation also changes, for example, if a two-month-old and three-month-old baby cocoa up to 10 times a day, then the stool in a baby at 6 months will decrease to 5-6 times a day, and by the year it will be 1-2 times day.
Often mothers worry, why does a newborn have feces with a smell? Children who eat artificial formula are more likely to suffer from constipation or upset stomach, the smell of feces can be putrid and smelly.
Note! Deviations may appear in diseases of the digestive organs, changes in the diet of a nursing mother. It is important for mom to know what to eat.
If, some time after giving birth, meconium is found in a newborn, this is a clear reason to rejoice, since the baby's intestines are working correctly. If the original feces are in no hurry to leave, you should consult a doctor. Timely recognized pathology will increase the chances of recovery.
