Question
What should be done if a newborn has been experiencing diarrhea for over 20 days?
Answer
Diarrhea in newborns is a common occurrence, especially in breastfed infants. Generally, breastfed babies have yellow or golden yellow stools that are uniform in texture, sometimes slightly loose with greenish hues and a slightly acidic taste but not smelly, and they defecate 2 to 4 times a day. If the usual daily defecation frequency suddenly increases to 5 to 6 times, it should be considered whether the baby is suffering from an illness. If the usual defecation frequency is higher but the baby is in good overall condition with no weight loss, there is no need to worry excessively. For breastfed infants, one can try shortening the duration of each feeding session so that the baby only consumes the first half of the milk, as the first half contains higher protein content, is easier to digest, and is rich in nutrition; the latter half has a higher fat content and is harder to digest. If necessary, the mother can drink a large glass of diluted salt water half an hour to one hour before feeding, to dilute the milk before feeding the baby.