Many babies have more than one stool every day. Your baby can have as many as 5 or 10 stools in a day after one week of birth. Your baby may also have a stool after every feeding. The number of stools may reduce as the baby matures and eats more.
After birth, your baby’s stool can change a lot. The stool can be of different colors and texture. The first stool of your baby is usually thick, sticky and greenish black in color. The stool changes to green in the few days after birth and to yellow or yellowish brown after a week.
The color and texture of your baby’s stool depend on what you are feeding him or her. When you breastfed your baby or formula- feed (using cow milk), the stool is soft, loose or runny.
Mucus is often present in babies stool. It is of no importance if it is in small quantities. But if large amounts of mucus are present in your baby’s stool, that is a sign of alarm and you should seek urgent medical attention. In many cases, the color of the baby’s stool can be used to determine his/her health.
Causes of Mucus in Baby’s Stool
Many factors can cause mucus to appear in your baby’s stool.
Infections: Mucus in a baby’s stool can indicate bacterial or viral infection. Bacteria such as campylobacter, salmonella, etc are found in the environment and can enter your baby’s digestive system and cause an infection. A bacterial infection causes blood in the stool of the baby. This infection can be healed by antibiotics given to the baby by a doctor. Just like bacteria, viruses can also enter your baby’s digestive system and cause an infection. Viral infection usually resolves on their own but your baby should treated by a doctor.
Allergy: Your baby may be allergic to certain foods such as milk proteins. This causes digestive problems in your baby which leads to mucus in the stool.
Teething: This is a process where a baby’s teeth start to come out. During teething, the baby produces a lot of mucus which is swallowed and can be present in the stool.
Cold: During cold conditions, a lot of mucus is produced in the baby’s body. Since the baby does not know how to spit out the mucus, a lot of it is swallowed and removed in the stool.
Malabsorption: This is a syndrome where the baby’s small intestine is unable to absorb vital nutrients such as vitamins, proteins and fats. Normally the small intestine’s chief role is to absorb nutrients from the food the baby eats. Numerous causes can prevent the baby’s small intestine from absorbing food such as infections or birth problems. Digestive issues may also be the cause of malabsorption. This condition will cause mucus to be present in the baby’s stool.
Another cause of the presence of mucus in the baby’s stool is germs. Normally babies suck anything they get hold off. These materials may contain germs which enter the baby’s digestive system causing stomach upset. This causes mucus in the baby’s stool.
Diagnosis
If you notice large amounts of mucus in your baby’s stool, seek medical attention. Your doctor can perform the following test
Stool analysis: This refers to several tests done on the stool to assist in diagnosis of medical conditions affecting the digestive system. In this test, you will be required as a parent to take a sample of your baby’s stool and give it to the doctor for analysis. Stool analysis involves examining the stool with the microscope and conducting microbiologic and chemical tests. Your doctor checks the stool for shape, odor, color, amount, consistency and mucus.
Your doctor can also perform a stool culture on your baby’s stool sample. The culture sample is then analyzed in the laboratory to determine whether bacterial infection is the cause of the problem. Discuss the results of your baby’s stool analysis with your doctor.
Treatment
Treatment for mucus in baby’s stool is based on the results of the stool analysis. If the results are normal, your baby will need no treatment. But if the results are abnormal, the following treatment options can be recommended:
- Change of diet: The doctor may suggest that the mother is the cause of mucus in her baby’s stool. This involves the diet that the mother feeds on. In order for the mother to help reduce mucus in the baby’s stool, she needs to change her diet by consulting the doctor on the most suitable foods to consume.
- Use alternative food for the baby: Your health professional may suggest a change in the diet of the baby. You can try formula instead of feeding your baby from the bottle.
- Medications: In some cases, your health professional may recommend use of certain medications to treat the underlying cause of mucus in the baby’s stool. In case of bacterial infection, your health professional can prescribe certain antibiotic drugs for babies to treat it.
