Question
A three-month-old baby has three to four bowel movements a day, with green stool and milk curds, and occasionally vomiting. How should it be handled?
Answer
A baby’s green stool may be due to the acidic nature of breastfed infants’ stools, or it could be because formula-fed infants have faster intestinal peristalsis or intestinal inflammation. Additionally, if the baby consumes enough iron but cannot fully digest the iron from the formula milk, the stool may also appear yellow-green, with larger white granules and an odor. For exclusively breastfed infants, stools should be yellow or golden yellow, with a uniform texture, sometimes slightly loose and green, with a sour taste but no odor, and bowel movements two to four times a day. For formula-fed infants, stools are usually lighter yellow or earth gray, drier, in a ribbon-like shape, often accompanied by milk curds, with a distinct odor, and bowel movements one to two times a day.