“When the baby is newborn it is normal for the baby’s first bowel movements to be black or greenish and sticky, due to the presence of substances that have accumulated during pregnancy and are removed in the first few days.Thus, it is also normal that the color becomes more and more brown after 2 or 3 days.
However, other situations, such as feeding and using iron-based medications, can also make your baby’s stools darker than normal.
- When it is not a newborn.
- It is necessary to pay attention and try to identify what may be causing this stool alteration and contact the pediatrician as soon as possible.
- As in some cases this may be a sign of something more seriously.
- Understand what other situations can cause changes in your baby’s stool.
If the mother has cracked nipples and breastfeeds, the baby can ingest blood, which is digested and then appears in her stool, obscuring them.
The mother’s blood supply is not harmful to the baby, however, the mother should treat cracked nipples to reduce pain and discomfort during breastfeeding.Discover the best ways to treat cracks in your chest.
Iron-rich foods such as spinach and beetroot, for example, can obscure your baby’s stool.This change is not a concern and the color of the stool usually returns to normal if these foods are consumed.See the list of foods that contain more iron.
Therefore, if your baby is already eating papinhas that may have beans, spinach or beetroot, papinhas can be tested without these ingredients to assess whether the baby’s stool color will return to normal.At first they should come with mixed colors, then they should return to normal color.
The use of certain remedies such as ferrous sulfate or that contain bismuth compounds, such as Pepto-Bismol, for example, can cause dark stools in the baby, in this case the color of the stools usually returns to normal when the baby stops to take the medication.
If the baby takes an iron supplement, the stool, in addition to being dark, may become drier and therefore it is important to offer plenty of fluid, depending on age, to soften the stool.days, while babies who have started a varied diet can drink water, juice or tea.
While this is a less common situation, the baby’s black stools may also indicate bleeding in the stomach, esophagus or intestine and this should be evaluated by the pediatrician as soon as possible, so that the baby receives appropriate treatment, in this case stool.It can be very dark and have a very strong smell, but the presence of blood in the stool is not as visible.
If parents or caregivers suspect that blood is mixed in the baby’s stool, they should pay close attention to the baby’s diaper and genitals.Bright red blood mixed in the stool may indicate bleeding due to a crack in the anus or constipation.It is possible to see traces of blood in the stool. Learn more about blood in your baby’s stool.