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What Does Frequent Loose Stool In A Child Indicate?
Question: My baby is 3 month 1 week old.Her birth weight was 2.9kg and now she is 6.4 kg.For the first 2 weeks she passed stool 3 to 4 times a day but from 3rd week onwards she is passing stool 25 to 30 times a day in small amounts.From last 2 weeks she passes stool 2 times in a day in proper amount but the little passing stools for 30 times has not stopped.She is breastfeed and was given 4 to 5 times dexolac in the first month.Pls help
Brief Answer:
Get the stool tested.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through your query and understand your concerns. 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). However, 25-30 times a day is a bit excessive. I would insist you to get her stool tested for routine microscopy. Please upload the report and I would guide you accordingly. In the meantime, please try to eliminate Dexolac or any other formula feeds completely and shift to exclusive breast feeding. Let me emphasize on the fact that breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. 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. I hope that eliminating formula feeds would be enough to relieve the problem.
I would wait for you to upload the stool report. Feel free to ask anything more.
Regards
Get the stool tested.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through your query and understand your concerns. 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). However, 25-30 times a day is a bit excessive. I would insist you to get her stool tested for routine microscopy. Please upload the report and I would guide you accordingly. In the meantime, please try to eliminate Dexolac or any other formula feeds completely and shift to exclusive breast feeding. Let me emphasize on the fact that breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. 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. I hope that eliminating formula feeds would be enough to relieve the problem.
I would wait for you to upload the stool report. Feel free to ask anything more.
Regards
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Answered by
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