Question
At 23 days old, is the frequency of my newborn’s bowel movements normal? How can I determine if a newborn’s bowel movement frequency is normal?
Answer
The frequency of newborns’ bowel movements varies from individual to individual. Generally speaking, breastfed infants have bowel movements that are golden or yellow in color, with a uniform consistency, sometimes slightly loose, greenish, with a slightly sour taste but not smelly, and it’s normal for them to have 2 to 4 bowel movements per day. For formula-fed infants, the stool is paler yellow or earthy gray in color, drier and harder, sometimes with milk curds, and it smells stronger, with about 1 to 2 bowel movements per day. If a baby usually has 1 to 2 bowel movements per day but suddenly drops to 5 to 6, it may be necessary to consider whether there is an illness. However, if a baby has more frequent bowel movements but is overall in good condition and there is no weight loss, there is usually no need to worry about health issues. Firstly, you need to observe whether the baby’s stool is soft or hard. My child also had a bowel movement every few days around 50 days old, with the longest being every 4 days, but it was a runny soft stool. At that time, I knew he was not constipated. Constipation refers to hard, ribbon-like or granular stool. In this case, there is no need to worry; such conditions in newborns are normal as they do not have a regular daily bowel movement schedule. Therefore, it is not recommended to use rectal suppositories as this can lead to the baby becoming increasingly insensitive to the urge to defecate. Firstly, help your baby with abdominal massage every day using the middle three fingers along the baby’s navel