Every new mother plunges headlong into caring for a newborn. She not only takes care of the baby, but also worries that he has everything, and he does not need anything. Mom cares about everything! Starting from tiny fingers, ending with the feces of a child. By the way, the children's stool itself depends on many factors: the way of feeding, the mother's consumption of new foods, the health of the baby, the functioning of the digestive system.

First of all, the baby's stool depends on what it is. If the baby is on breastfeeding, a greenish color is the norm, since bilirubin is responsible for such a color.

Hormones in mother's milk, which fluctuate regardless of anything, can change the color, and even the consistency of the baby's feces.

The feces can turn green when oxidized, since the baby's liver cannot yet produce all the necessary enzymes, and the intestines are not populated with the necessary bacteria.

Loose, frothy stools with a clear tint of green as well as mucus may also be normal - if your baby is only sucking on fore milk, not fatty. By the way, it is fatty hindmilk that gives baby feces a light brown color.

In fact, the feces of a breastfed baby can be absolutely any color - it all depends on what the mother sat down on the eve of. But, with a green stool, the baby should not be disturbed by anything.

As for the artificial ones, the change in stool can still be associated with a change in the milk mixture. It also leads to green stools. The fact is that such a shade can give iron, which is contained in large quantities in the mixture. If you suffered the same fate - the mixture did not fit, then it is best to change it.

But not everything is so smooth, because often a green stool is a symptom of some kind of disorder. In this case, the child must be shown to the doctor.

Reason for excitement

The most important indicator is the well-being of the child. If your baby is cheerful, cheerful, calm, he normal sleep and nothing worries him, so there is no reason to panic. It is absolutely normal that from time to time there is a small amount of mucus in the stool or undigested milk.

It is a completely different matter if the amount of mucus has increased markedly or blood fragments have appeared in the feces. If the stool is frothy and liquid, it has a sharp sour putrid odor, then this indicates some kind of problem, mainly signs of dysbacteriosis. Sometimes with this disease, a rash can occur, the baby is worried, often cries for no reason, spit up a lot, sleeps little and poorly, frequent colic.

Green stool is also one of the causes of lactase deficiency. To check this version, the doctor must send the child for tests.

Sometimes against the background of a cold or some viral disease the baby's feces can also change their usual color to greenish.

Most importantly, remember that if there are no other signs of illness besides color, then there is no problem at all!

Green stool in an older child

All of the above can, in principle, be projected onto older children. The fact is that indigestion often leads to changes in feces - its consistency or color. Especially if the children have been eating adult food for a long time. By the way, that is why it is worth considering that from green food: parsley, dill, lettuce, spinach, feces can also be stained in green color.

Sometimes the green color of feces is a consequence of the introduced complementary foods, especially this often happens after meeting with an apple, pear, broccoli.

Often the stool itself is colored, but, on top of everything else, it still has green blotches - this indicates that your baby has a large amount of sugar in the diet.

Experts say that before raising a panic because of the color of the poop, it is necessary to analyze the whole situation: the cause of the violation, which provoked the condition and behavior of the baby, and only then decide whether to see a doctor or not.

Why does a child have a green stool photo:

green stool in baby

The newly-made mother is immersed in the care of the child, in the care and custody of him. She worries that the baby is full, calm, healthy, that he is comfortable and well. Mom studies his tiny body, admiring her blood, listens to breathing during sleep, learns to recognize crying. And, of course, she is also worried about the bowel movements of the child - aren't you like that?

It should be said that children's stool depends on many factors, the main ones being the method of feeding (artificial or breastfeeding), and in older children, the foods eaten. Also, the quality of the stool directly depends on the health of the baby and the work of his digestive system. Children's feces can change in color, texture and smell, and each time a loving attentive mother is alarmed and even frightened: why are children's poop black or mixed with blood and mucus? Today we will talk about why they are green and whether it is worth worrying about this.

First feces of a newborn

First of all, it should be said that it is possible to assess the condition of the child's feces only after the 5th day of life, since until this time he excretes meconium, and then transitional stools.

Meconium is called the contents of the intestines of a newborn, and it just has a dark olive color - this is the norm. During the first two days, the baby poops with original feces - a thick, odorless, viscous mass dark green close to black. Do not worry, on the third day a transitional stool appears. It also has a green tint, but is already closer in color to brown. Lumps of curdled milk are often visible.

And only after the 5th day of a newborn's life, the chair begins to take shape in a permanent one. In general, greenish-brown stool in a newborn is observed up to 5-10 days.

Green stool from a breastfed baby

A child's stool largely depends on what he eats. And in the case of breastfeeding, the greenish color of baby feces is the absolute norm. This shade is given to it by bilirubin, which is invariably excreted along with feces.

The hormones in breast milk can also change the color and consistency of the feces of a newborn - they fluctuate independently of you, and even more so of the child.

Moreover, when the feces of a breastfed baby are oxidized, they also turn green. Also note that the liver of a newborn does not yet produce all the necessary enzymes, and the intestines are not yet populated with the necessary bacteria.

Even if the child has loose, foamy stools with a hint of green and mucous inclusions (but without a pungent odor and disturbing pains) - this may be the norm, but to say that the child sucks out only the anterior more liquid milk, and does not get to fatty. It is fatty breast milk gives baby feces a light brown color (like mustard).

Therefore, if you observe a similar picture, and at the same time nothing bothers the baby, he sleeps and eats well, regularly (but not often) poops, gains weight and is not naughty - there is no reason to worry. Baby feces can be of any color - from yellow to dark brown with green. Of course, at the same time, the mother must control her diet - after all, everything she eats directly goes through the milk to the child.

Green stool in a bottle-fed baby

The same goes for the artificial ones. Remember when your baby had green stools. Do you attribute it to the change in milk formula? This is often what causes poop to turn green. A characteristic green hue to the stool is given by iron, which is present in large quantities in the mixture. Mothers, sharing their experience, say that they have observed similar transformations when feeding children with NAN, Nutrilon and other mixtures.

Try changing your infant formula and see how you react. Often at this stage, parental worries disappear.

But it happens that green feces in a child is one of the symptoms of a disorder or disease. And then the baby needs to be shown to the doctor.

Green chair is a reason for excitement

We once again focus your attention on the fact that the decisive role is played by the well-being of the child, and not the color of his stool. If the baby is cheerful and calm, sleep and appetite are not disturbed, and apart from the color in the feces, nothing else bothers you, sleep peacefully. At the same time, keep in mind that a small amount of mucus and undigested milk can absolutely be in the baby's stool.

Another thing is when the amount of mucus has increased and blood fragments have joined this. Foamy liquid stool with a sharp sour putrid odor also indicates a disorder, mainly the development of dysbacteriosis. As an accompanying sign, a rash may appear on the skin, the child becomes restless, cries for no reason, sleeps poorly, he is disturbed by colic, he often burps.

Green stools can also be one of the symptoms of lactase deficiency - you should pass the necessary tests. But if there are no other signs besides color, there is no problem.

Against the background of a cold or viral disease, bowel movements can also change their color, including greenish.

Green stool in older children

All this applies to older children. With digestive disorders, their feces may well change, including green. But since they are already eating "adult" food, this fact cannot be ignored. Be aware that green food can also turn green stools. Such an effect, for example, is created by leafy vegetables and garden greens: lettuce, spinach, nettle, parsley, dill.

Some mothers notice greening of stools during the introduction of complementary foods, in particular after the baby has met an apple, pear or broccoli.

Unevenly colored feces with green patches may be evidence of too much sugar in the diet of children.

In general, before raising a panic because of green poop, carefully analyze the situation: maybe everything is not so scary as it seemed to you at first.

Green feces in a child often scares parents, but it is not always necessary to panic. The color of a baby's stool shows how his digestive system works.

In some cases, feces acquire this shade as a result of eating certain foods. If the patient is not worried about anything, then the green color of the feces is not a cause for concern.

When is green stool normal?

In the first 5 days of baby feces are black or olive. Such primordial stools are normal, as the baby can swallow blood during childbirth.

On the 3rd day, light-colored lumps appear in the feces, but in general, the stools have a greenish color. Such a feces is called transitional. Up to 10 days, the baby will retain a greenish color of the stool.

The pigment bilirubin gives an unusual color to the feces of the baby. Oxidized, the stool turns green, which is the norm.

The liver and digestive system are not yet working at full capacity, so the enzymes that are supposed to process food are not fully produced.

The intestines do not yet contain a sufficient number of beneficial bacteria that take part in the digestion of food.

If the dark green stool becomes liquid, while the child retains his appetite, there is no pain in the abdomen, he sleeps well, then there is no need to worry. Such bowel movements are associated with the nature of the baby's nutrition.

The foremilk has less fat content, and the brown color of the stool is due to the richer breast milk.

If a mother has inverted or flat nipples or her breasts are too tight, then the baby is not getting enough fat milk. In this case, the normalization of the stool in the baby will take a long time.

Babies up to 9 or 12 months old may have green stools. The color of the stool is influenced by the foods that a nursing mother eats.

If the diet contains a large amount of parsley, spinach, green pears or apples, cucumbers, then the child's stool will acquire a greenish tint.

For children who are on artificial feeding, the color of the stool may change as a result of the use of mixtures with a large amount of iron.

Such milk mixtures include Nutrilon, NAN and others. Parents should consult with a pediatrician. The doctor will select the food that the child will tolerate well.

New complementary foods affect the color change of feces. After the baby gets acquainted with pears, broccoli and other foods, bowel movements may acquire a greenish tint.

Don't worry if your child has good health The baby sleeps and eats well. After a few days, the excrement will acquire a normal color.

It is necessary to pay attention to the feces of the child. If five days after taking a new product, the baby’s stool has not returned to normal, there are pieces of mucus in it, then the new dish should be removed from the menu.

Children over 2 years of age often receive food from an adult table. In this case, the consistency and color of the feces may change.

Some babies at this age are given sweets, chocolate, confectionery, others are fed with dill, spinach and other products, wanting to fill the body with vitamins.

Parents should reconsider their children's menu, as the stool will be green.

Possible pathologies

The causes of green stools can be serious and indicate a violation of the functioning of any organ of the digestive system.

In children under 2 years old, green feces can be a manifestation of dysbacteriosis - the balance between beneficial bacteria is disturbed in the intestines.

If the baby is given complementary foods or new juice early, then he, too, may develop this disease.

A past illness, for the treatment of which it was necessary to take antibacterial drugs, may be the cause of a change in the color of feces. Dysbacteriosis will occur in a child if his mother took antibiotics.

A month-old baby begins to explore the world and pulls fingers and foreign objects into his mouth. In this case, microbes and bacteria enter his body, which upset the balance in the digestive system.

In this case, the child's stool may be liquid, frothy, greenish in color. In some cases, the child may become constipated.

It is worth finding out the reasons for the change in bowel movements if the following symptoms are added:

• stomach ache;
• frequent regurgitation;
• the smell of rotten feces.

In this case, you need to pass the analysis. It is important to identify the intestinal infection that occurs in the child's body in time. Parents should strictly monitor the hygiene of the baby.

After all, many mothers and grandmothers lick a pacifier before giving it to a child, but there can be a lot of microbes on the surface of the nipple that will cause the development of pathology in the child's body.

Causes of stool changes may lie in exposure to opportunistic microbes. When certain conditions are created, such microbes become pathogenic for children under 2 years of age.

If overheated, malnutrition, the stool will be frothy, fetid, the color will change to green.

If hygiene is grossly violated in the family or one of the family members falls ill with salmonella, dysentery or E. coli, then the child is at high risk of contracting these ailments.

The chair in this case becomes liquid, the child defecates quite often. Stool is often a lump of green mucus, sometimes blood streaks are visible in it.

The patient feels the urge to cleanse the intestines, but they turn out to be false. The child feels pain in the abdomen, which manifests itself in the form of seizures. After defecation, the pain subsides, but soon increases again.

In addition to pain, children experience other unpleasant symptoms:

• appetite is reduced;
• body temperature rises;
• lethargy is noted;
• possible vomiting.

Salmonellosis is an infectious disease that occurs in babies quite difficult. The reason for its development may be the use of chicken eggs.

The child's temperature rises, vomiting opens, his head hurts, a lethargic state is noted, and there is no appetite.

This infection affects the small intestine. The patient's stool becomes dark green. Parents should urgently show the baby to the doctor, as dehydration occurs very quickly.

Green stool in older children

In children older than 5 years, the reasons for the change in color and consistency of feces may be different. One of the main ones is the introduction of new products into the child's diet.

Do not panic at the sight of green feces. Your baby may have eaten spinach, dill, parsley, broccoli, or other green vegetables.

If the stool has a heterogeneous color, it has green blotches, then the child's menu contains a large amount of sweets. Parents should review the baby's diet and include more healthy foods in it.

You should not panic if, apart from the green color of the feces of the child, nothing bothers.

Parents should analyze the general condition of the child: determine why the child has green feces, observe the behavior and condition of the child. Only then should a decision be made about drug treatment.

If you suspect an intestinal infection, you should call an ambulance, as frequent diarrhea and vomiting will lead to very rapid dehydration.

Before the doctor arrives, parents should give the child enough fluids. A kid who is 2 years old can drink on his own.

It is necessary to give a drink in small portions, so as not to provoke vomiting. Toddlers under 2 years of age should receive liquid by teaspoon or pipette often enough.

If attacks of vomiting and diarrhea occur more often than 5-9 times, then not only liquid, but also salts are excreted from the body. They need to be replenished.

To do this, you can buy Regidron, Oralit or other means at the pharmacy. In addition to saline, you can give the patient sorbents.

Smecta, Enterosgel or another drug with an absorbent effect will absorb toxic substances in the intestines and remove them from the body.

If the cause of green feces was an infection, then sorbents will not be able to eliminate them. To do this, you need to drink antibacterial drugs.

It is not recommended to make a decision on their admission on your own - only a doctor should make all appointments.

The drug should be taken two or three times a day, depending on the age and condition of the patient.

It is no secret that stool reflects the work of the child's digestive system and is one of the indicators of his health. Often the green color of the stool baby causes concern in the mother. Let's figure it out: is it always worth worrying in such cases?

First, we note that in the first 5 days of a baby's life, the chair has its own characteristics. After the baby is born, the bowel movements are dark olive or even black in color, and this is normal. The thick, viscous mass, odorless, of the original stool is associated with the release of blood swallowed by the baby during childbirth.

From the 3rd day, light lumps may already appear in the stool, but it remains green - this is a transitional stool. From the 6th to the 10th day, the stools are still greenish-brown in color. Undoubtedly, the color of the stool depends on the nutrition of the baby.

Normal stool color in children

It is normal for a breastfed baby to have a greenish tint to light brown stools. This color is provided by the pigment bilirubin, which, after some changes in the liver cells, is excreted in the form of stercobilin with feces and urobilin with urine.

When oxidized, the stool of a newborn turns green, and this is also the norm. Digestive system the baby, including the liver, does not produce all the enzymes necessary for the digestion of food. The intestines do not yet contain the required amount of beneficial microorganisms involved in the digestive process.

Even the liquid consistency of the green stool is not a manifestation of the disease, but is due to the fact that the child sucks out only the so-called "front" breast milk, which is less fatty. But it is the fatty mother's milk that gives the light brown color to the baby's stool.

Sometimes the baby is malnourished due to flat or inverted nipples in the mother, insufficiently active sucking on tight breasts. In these cases, the chair is established for a longer time.

Therefore, you should not worry if the child is calm, does not cry from pain, appetite and normal sleep are preserved, the stool is not quickened, does not have mucus and pungent odor,. When breastfeeding, the baby may change the color of the stool and from.

Of course, a nursing mother must follow a diet. If the mother eats a lot of green vegetables or sins with the abuse of carbohydrates, then this can also cause the baby to have green stools. Greens in the stool will cause spinach, parsley, dill,.

The kids on artificial nutrition the green color of the bowel movements may be due to the use of iron rich. Green color can be given by mixtures such as NAN, Nutrilon and some others. After consulting with your doctor, you can choose the right formula for your child.

Many parents are mistaken in believing that the eggs of domestic chickens bought on the market are not dangerous, and they calmly give them to the child, which causes the disease.

With this infection, the intoxication syndrome is pronounced: high fever, repeated vomiting, lack of appetite, lethargy. With salmonellosis, the small intestine is affected, so the stool is plentiful, dark green in color, reminiscent of swamp mud. Dehydration of the child can occur quickly enough, so it is impossible to delay in contacting a doctor and treatment.

The program "School of Dr. Komarovsky" tells about intestinal infections that change the color of a child's stool:

Parenting Tactics

If the green color of the feces does not affect the behavior and well-being of the baby, he is cheerful, eats and sleeps well, without showing anxiety, then nothing needs to be done. For a child older than a year, the food that he consumes should be analyzed.

But if there is a suspicion of dysbacteriosis or intestinal infection, you should consult a doctor. With a high temperature, recurring vomiting and copious stools, you can not hesitate, you need to call an ambulance. Dehydration and cramps can develop very quickly, and the outcome is in danger of becoming disastrous.

Before the doctor arrives, it is necessary: ​​to give the child water in small portions (so as not to provoke vomiting) of special solutions - Oralit, Regidron, Enterodez. These saline solutions can be bought at any pharmacy. If the child drinks them reluctantly, then you need to drink it with a spoon (1 spoon every 5 minutes) and even with a pipette.

Plain water for soldering is not suitable, because a child with feces and vomiting loses, in addition to liquid, salts, which also need to be replenished. Packets for preparing any of the saline solutions should be kept in the medicine cabinet.

In addition to replenishing fluid and salt losses, sorbents (Smecta, Enterosgel, Polyphepan) can be given to the child, which will absorb toxins in the intestines and promote their elimination.

Of course, neither saline solutions nor sorbents will have an effect on infectious agents. For this, antibacterial drugs are used, which should be prescribed only by a doctor, taking into account the age of the child and the severity of the disease.

Some antibiotics are contraindicated for babies, you should not experiment and self-medicate.

According to the doctor's prescription, pre- and probiotics, enzymatic preparations can be used in the treatment. Breastfeeding should continue, but reduce by half or a third of the daily dose of milk (as agreed with the doctor). For older children, prolonged fasting is also not used (a hungry pause lasts no more than 6 hours). Nutrition for children (type of food and dose) is also determined by the doctor.

Summary for parents

The green color of the stool does not always indicate a disease in the baby. Appetite, behavior of the child matter,. If the condition of the baby does not suffer, then parents have nothing to worry about.

If the green color of the stool is noted when the temperature rises, the baby is anxious due to abdominal pain, the stool is frequent and very plentiful, accompanied by vomiting or frequent regurgitation then you need to seek medical help. In some cases, if the child loses a lot of fluid, it is necessary to call an ambulance.