Green stools in babies: What to do? When to worry? #CauseAchatter

Green stools in babies? In this post, I will be giving you a quick overview of the reason behind this common worry parents have.

In newborn babies and during early life, stools can be of varied colors. And amongst them, the green stool can be one of the types. When parents notice green stool in their kids, they tend to worry and rush to their pediatrician for advice. Green stool in babies can be a normal finding or can be an indicator of a severe intestinal infection.

Here is a guide about green stool in babies and when parents should need to worry about it.

Why green stool occurs?Normal physiology of stool color:

Stool color is influenced by what you eat and the amount of bile (a yellow-green fluid secreted by the gall bladder that digests fats) in your stool. It also depends on the travel time taken by the food in the digestive tract. When bile pigments travel through your gastrointestinal tract, they are chemically altered by enzymes, changing the pigments from green to brown.

Causes of green-colored stool

1) Decreased transit time of food in the gut: In other words, foods are passing faster through the digestive tract. It may be a normal phenomenon in breastfed babies or may be due to an infection like diarrhea.

2) Food with green pigment: like plenty of green leafy vegetables or food or drinks with green additive color.

When is green stool bad?

When to worry: if any of the underlying features are present, parents should visit the doctor/pediatrician.

1. Associated blood in stool: stool is bright red or black. It may indicate any serious enteric infection like dysentery or severe food allergy. Please note that a dark green colored stool might look black in the naked eye. You may rub a little stool in a white cloth to see whether it is dark green or black.
2. Not gaining weight: if there is growth faltering, there is a high possibility of underlying serious illness
3. A decrease in urine output means the baby is not passing at least 4 to 6 times a day.
4. Associates fever: may indicate an infection.
5. Not accepting feed well: baby is not taking his or her usual feed.
6. Significant abdominal distension: if the abdomen is distended and is tense
7. Repeated vomiting: baby is not able to keep the usual feed

When green stool is not dangerous

When not to worry: if the baby is passing greenish stool and

1. Active and playful as usual
2. Feeding well
3. Passing urine as usual
4. Not having any of the above mentioned “to worry” complaints

How to cure Green-stool?

What mothers can do:

1. Proper latching: This means baby is well attached to the breast. If a baby is bottle-fed, the baby should be kept in a semi-reclined position during feeding and bottle to be tilted upwards.
2. Mother to take care of her heath and feeding: as mother’s health and digestion directly or indirectly affect the baby’s health.

drabhijitmisra.com Disclaimer: All health information provided on this blog is for general awareness and doesn’t in any way replace a doctor’s professional medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor in case of any decision regarding your health, and diet. The information provided is for awareness. This is not meant as professional medical consultation. Healthcare is an individual decision and needs careful discussion and professional consultation before taking any decision. The author is sharing his professional knowledge. This post is meant as educational and awareness information and all decisions to be taken at own risk after consulting their own doctor in person. Health information is constantly being updated and while the author tries his best to keep updated information, the author and the website shall not be held liable for any reliance placed on such content for any reason whatsoever.

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