5 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. HOW MANY POOS SHOULD A BREASTFED BABY MAKE A DAY?

In the first week your baby’s number of poos will increase, and he could pass between two to 10 stools per day. Between two and six weeks, babies often settle down and pass two to five poos per day. “Once breastfeeding is established, from six weeks, a baby can pass anything from one poo per day to one poo every two weeks,” says clinic sister Cindy Homewood, who urges parents not to panic if their breastfed babies are pooping this infrequently, as it doesn’t mean they’re constipated.

“As breastfeeding is established and the gut matures, the bulk of your milk is absorbed, and there is very little waste product stored up,” she explains. When it does finally emerge, don’t be alarmed if you’re greeted with a mini explosion and need to change your baby from top to toe. No matter how advanced nappies are these days, newborn poo has a way of creeping up little backs.

2. SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT GREEN-COLOURED POO?

Green stools can mean many things, including a little bit of overfeeding (the gut has to process larger volumes of milk, which is not harmful), and many babies pass green stools every so often. So long as they alternate between green and yellow, that’s normal, reassures Sister Homewood, but green, infrequent stools could also mean that your baby is underfed. “If he has green stools as well as other symptoms such as a fever or severe pain, this could mean that there’s a rare bacterial infection in the bowel,” she says. She adds that sometimes, a stool can also be affected by something in your diet or a medication that you or your baby is taking.

3. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BABY IS CONSTIPATED?

Constipation is quite difficult to diagnose as often parents think that a day or so of no poo means that their baby is constipated. “True constipation usually presents with a hard, dry stool that the child battles to pass comfortably. Some children experience this on a daily basis, but it’s usually a build-up over a week to 10 days. Most babies will push hard, go very red in the face and grunt loudly but then pass a perfectly soft and normal stool. This is not considered constipation,” Cindy says.

4. WHAT IF YOU FIND BLOOD IN THE STOOL?

Discovering blood in your baby’s poo is really very frightening, but blood in the stool is not always a problem, Cindy says. “It could be from slight anal tearing from a hard stool, or there could also be small amounts of blood in the stool if you have cracked and bleeding nipples. This will not affect your baby in any way, and you can continue to feed if possible.” If, however, your baby is passing a teaspoonful of blood in his stool on a regular basis, you should see a paediatrician immediately, especially if it’s associated with a temperature or refusal to feed,” she cautions. It would also be important to note if the blood was fresh or old (dark brown).

5. DO VACCINES AFFECT POOS?

“The Rotavirus vaccine can cause stools to be more frequent, green, slimy and sometimes even frothy,” warns Cindy. “This can last for 24 to 48 hours, and whoever changes nappies needs to wash their hands very carefully after poo nappy changes for at least a week after the vaccine.”

Sometimes, a stool can also be affected by something in your diet or a medication that you or your baby is taking.