What does diarrhea look like in a newborn?

By diarrhea we mean the frequent excretion of watery stools. This means that the stool has a thin consistency and in infants it is absorbed into the diaper. Usually the child poops more than three times a day. In the case of diarrhea, mucus and blood can be present in the stool, it can be greenish-brown in color and smell strongly. In newborns, it is necessary to distinguish between diarrhea and normal stool. Newborns poop quite often (especially breastfed babies), it can be 8 to 10 stools a day (however, it often happens that a child does not poop for a few days). In children on artificial nutrition, frequent pooping is typical for the first week (8 to 10 times a day), then it is limited to 1 to 4 times a day. Normal stool has a creamy consistency, in breastfed babies it is thinner with pieces, it looks like scrambled eggs, in formula-fed babies it is thicker, resembling pudding or cottage cheese. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether it is a normal stool or you can already talk about diarrhea.

The most common causes of diarrhea are infections - viruses (rotaviruses, adenoviruses and enteroviruses) or bacteria (E.coli, campylobacter, salmonella and shigella), rarely parasites (lamblia and cryptosporides). The reason can also be food allergies, lactose intolerance, diseases of the digestive tract or a reaction to antibiotics, in which case we talk about non-infectious diarrhea.

If the cause of the diarrhea is a virus, it may start with fever and vomiting, diarrhea is added later. It usually subsides within a week. Pronounced watery diarrhea is caused by rotaviruses, it is often accompanied by temperature, in severe cases it can be accompanied by vomiting and dehydration. If the diarrhea is of bacterial origin, vomiting is also present. Diarrhea can last longer than a week, the child often has a fever, abdominal pain, and there may be more blood in the stool.

Diarrhea can be mild, moderate and severe. With mild diarrhea, there are 3 to 5 watery stools per day, with moderate diarrhea, the child poops 6 to 9 times a day, and with severe diarrhea, there are more than 10 watery stools per day. Watery stools can cause dehydration. Sufficient fluids should be administered.

Breastfed children should not be weaned during diarrhoea, in severe cases you can interrupt breastfeeding for max. 12 o'clock Before and between breastfeeding, give the child 50 to 100 ml of rice broth, or 10 ml/kg for each stool. You can give pure rice broth to formula-fed babies for the first 12-24 hours, if diarrhea persists, start with 1/4 milk + 3/4 rice broth on the 1st day, 1/3 milk + 2/3 rice broth on the 2nd day, 3rd day 1/2 milk + 1/2 rice broth, 4th day 2/3 milk + 1/3 rice broth, 5th day 3/4 milk + 1/4 rice broth, change the doses only if the stool is good.

Add fluids often and in small amounts. Start with 1-2 teaspoons every 10-15 minutes and increase the amount by 1-2 teaspoons after an hour at the earliest.

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