Normal Frequency of Stools
- Once children are on normal table foods, their stool pattern is like adults. The normal range is 3 per day to 1 every 2 days.
- Kids who go every 4 or 5 days almost always have pain with passage.
- Kids who go every 3 days often drift into longer times. Then, they also develop symptoms.
- Any child with pain during stool passage or lots of straining needs treatment. At the very least, the child should be treated with changes in diet.
Normal Stools and Normal Behaviors
- Breastfed and over 1 month old.
Stools every 4-7 days that are soft, large and pain-free can be normal. Occurs in 20% of breastfed babies. Caution: Before 1 month old, not stooling enough can mean not getting enough breast milk.
- Straining in babies.
Grunting or straining while pushing out a stool is normal in young babies. It's hard to pass stool lying on the back with no help from gravity. Becoming red in the face during straining is also normal.
- Large stools.
Size relates to the amount of food eaten. Large eaters have larger stools.
Causes
- True constipation is uncommon in babies.
- Sometimes, caused by formula only diet.
