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Are Lack Of Bowel Movements Normal In A Newborn?
Question: Hello Doctor,
This is regarding my 1 week old kid. He was having proper bowel movement for first 4 days but didn't have it from last 3 days. He is doing pee properly around 5-6 times a day. As of now he is fed mostly using breast milk but we give Formula milk as well 2 times a day.
He was 5 lb 13 ounce when he was born. Please let me know if it is normal for new borns to not have bowel movement for 4-5 days if breast fed for most of the day.
Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
This is regarding my 1 week old kid. He was having proper bowel movement for first 4 days but didn't have it from last 3 days. He is doing pee properly around 5-6 times a day. As of now he is fed mostly using breast milk but we give Formula milk as well 2 times a day.
He was 5 lb 13 ounce when he was born. Please let me know if it is normal for new borns to not have bowel movement for 4-5 days if breast fed for most of the day.
Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
Brief Answer:
No need to worry but stop the formula feeds altogether.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through your query and understand your concerns. Let me aaure you that for a baby of this age, it is normal to pass stool several times a day or even after each feed. Alternatively the child may pass stool once in 10 days and that is normal too. Unless the stool is hard and pellet like, you need not grow concerned.
Let emphasize on the fact that breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. I would strongly insist you to eliminate the formula milk completely. Most formula milks are cow milk based and hence difficult to digest. Moreover they make the child more prone to complications and infections. Mother's breast milk is produced on the demand of the baby. Hungrier the baby, more vigorous is the suck. More is the suck, more is the amount of breast milk produced. Giving formula automatically reduces the demand of the baby and thereby the production of breast milk. All you need to do is to switch back to exclusive breast feeding and the production will increase automatically. All you need to do is to monitor the urine output. If the frequency is more than 6 times in 24 hours, you would know that the amount of feeding is adequate. If the amount of passage of urine is less or if the child is lethargic you would need to take the child to a doctor without delay.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
No need to worry but stop the formula feeds altogether.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through your query and understand your concerns. Let me aaure you that for a baby of this age, it is normal to pass stool several times a day or even after each feed. Alternatively the child may pass stool once in 10 days and that is normal too. Unless the stool is hard and pellet like, you need not grow concerned.
Let emphasize on the fact that breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. I would strongly insist you to eliminate the formula milk completely. Most formula milks are cow milk based and hence difficult to digest. Moreover they make the child more prone to complications and infections. Mother's breast milk is produced on the demand of the baby. Hungrier the baby, more vigorous is the suck. More is the suck, more is the amount of breast milk produced. Giving formula automatically reduces the demand of the baby and thereby the production of breast milk. All you need to do is to switch back to exclusive breast feeding and the production will increase automatically. All you need to do is to monitor the urine output. If the frequency is more than 6 times in 24 hours, you would know that the amount of feeding is adequate. If the amount of passage of urine is less or if the child is lethargic you would need to take the child to a doctor without delay.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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