Characteristics of stools of infants fed formula milk

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The stools of formula-fed babies will be different from those of exclusively breastfed babies. Monitoring the child's stool regularly will help parents understand the overall health of the child in the best way.

1. How many times a day does an infant defecate?

Before learning about how formula-fed babies poop, parents need to understand the average frequency of their baby's bowel movements.
Many newborns defecate at least 1-2 times/day. After about 7 days of birth, the baby can defecate 5-10 times/day. Baby can poop after every feeding. The number of bowel movements will then decrease as your baby eats more and gets bigger during the first month.
When your baby is 3 - 4 weeks old, he may not have a bowel movement every day. This is completely normal, as long as the baby is healthy and the stools are not hard.

2. How do babies defecate?

During the first 2 days after birth, the baby will pass meconium. This is a mixture of amniotic fluid, mucus, and what your baby absorbs while in the womb. Meconium is usually green or black and quite sticky. The presence of meconium indicates that the child's intestinal tract is functioning normally.

3. How is the baby's stools on formula milk?

The poop of a formula-fed baby will be different from that of a breastfed baby. The stool characteristics of formula-fed infants are as follows:
The stool texture is larger than that of breastfed infants because the infant's digestive system cannot fully digest formula like breast milk; The stool of a formula-fed baby is light yellow or yellow-brown in color and may contain white particles in the stool; The smell of feces is usually quite strong; Babies are more prone to constipation than breastfed babies. When you switch from breastfeeding to formula feeding, your baby's poop will also change. Formula-fed babies' stools become darker, have a paste-like texture, and have a stronger odor.

If you want to practice introducing formula to replace breast milk, parents should try to transition gradually (about a few weeks) to let the baby get used to the new food. This will help the baby's digestive system adapt to formula, avoid constipation as well as reduce the risk of breast pain, swelling and mastitis for the mother. When babies are used to formula feeding, their digestive system will form new bowel habits on its own.
If your formula-fed baby's stools are green, this could be a sign that your baby is absorbing too much lactose in milk, a side effect of medications (iron supplements make stools dark), children are sensitive to food, the feeding schedule is not reasonable, the child's stomach has problems,... Parents should take the child to a health care provider if the baby's green stools do not decrease after 24 hours.
From the above information, parents can understand what are the characteristics of formula-fed babies' stools in terms of texture, color, and smell. Parents should monitor the child's bowel habits and stool condition to promptly intervene and treat if there are abnormal signs.
Parents should supplement their children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins to help fully meet their child's nutritional needs. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well.
Parents can learn more:
Signs of zinc deficiency in children
Micronutrient deficiency and failure to gain weight in children
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents please regularly visit the website vimec.com and make appointments with the leading doctors, pediatric specialists - nutritionists of Vinmec International General Hospital when needing advice on children's health.