Updated article : October, 2023.

Dear Parents,

What discoveries you will make in your baby’s diaper! It’s incredible what we can find for such a small person! 😊

Observing your baby’s stool leads to many questions about what’s normal and what’s worrying for your little one.

In this article:

• Baby stool colour
• Baby stool consistency
• Baby stool frequency

First, to understand if something is wrong, you have to examine your baby as a whole. If they’re generally happy, feed well, gaining weight as expected, growing well, developing normally, even if their stool sometimes seems bizarre, it can be healthy for your baby. If you ever find mucus or even a little blood in your baby’s diaper, don’t worry, it doesn’t mean it’s abnormal. If the situation is temporary and the baby’s general condition is fine, there’s nothing to worry about. The best thing to do in such a situation: watch and wait. Take note of your observations and, if the mucus and/or blood persist for more than a month, consult your doctor. Each baby is unique, and it’s no surprise that anything that enters up top through will impact on what’s eliminated down below. Any new foods will have an impact on stool in the diaper, including colour, consistency, smell or frequency. I’m sure you will learn this pretty quickly on your own!

For those who are interested, here is a link to pictures of baby stool to help you visualise the types of stool discussed in this article.

Often parents are surprised then worried about seeing changes in their baby’s diaper. They will consult to understand these changes, but most parents will be told that everything’s normal, that their baby is doing marvellously. Don’t forget, the baby’s digestive system is immature at birth. Some babies will be, due to their individuality, more sensitive in this regard. Look at your genetic makeup, and you will note we all have vulnerabilities, weaknesses as humans, and our intestinal system is no different.

Do you know the term “intestinal microbiota?” I wrote an article about baby immunity where I explain this term. I want to come back to intestinal microbiota in this article, as it influences the observed characteristics in baby stool. A baby’s intestinal microbiota is all the good bacteria that colonise the intestines which help it protect itself (immunity) and also helps with digestion, the absorption of food digested for their development. That said, stool will be influenced by the baby’s immature digestive system, diet, microbiota and personal stool pace.

To read about the characteristics of infant stool, go to Baby Stool Colour.