Question
My daughter is almost two months old and has been breastfed. Last week, she had some diarrhea, up to 6 times. At the hospital, her white blood cell count was 13, and there were no E. coli. But recently, her stools have occasionally contained blood strands, and the frequency of green stools has increased.
Answer
Stools that are red indicate lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Common causes of bloody diarrhea due to heat include anal fissures, hemorrhoids, or rectal polyps. Due to differences in age, dietary habits, and bowel habits, the number of bowel movements per day can vary, as can the nature of the stool. Formula-fed babies usually have yellow or yellowish stools that are hard and dry and do not stick to diapers. The sugar in milk makes the stool soft with a slight odor of fermentation. Breastfed infants typically have stools that are normal in appearance as yellow or golden yellow, uniform in pasty consistency, with a sweet-sour smell but no odor, without obvious mucus, and occasionally contain granular milk residue or slightly greenish.