Question
My baby is four months old and has been having stools every four to five days recently. The stool is dark green at the beginning and yellow at the end, and it’s not dry, but sticky. The baby’s mood is good. What’s going on?
Answer
Normal breastfed babies can occasionally have stool that is light green. If the baby’s stool is deep green, it may indicate indigestion. Possible causes of indigestion could be the mother consuming irritating or cold foods, or the mother’s emotional stress and anxiety, which can also disrupt the baby’s stool condition. When stool is acidic, the bile contained within it oxidizes in the air, turning it green. Bilirubin, a yellow pigment in bile, colors the stool yellow when it is hydrolyzed and turns into biliverdin, resulting in a green stool.