Patient's question:
My baby often passes smelly gas, and it's quite frequent, smelling like adult gas. Also, his bowel movements aren't normal—only once every two or three days, and they're green. What could be the reason, and how can it be resolved? Thank you!Duration and onset of symptoms: Over a month.
Doctor's answer:
The phenomenon of excessive farting is very common in infancy. For newborns who have been exclusively breastfed for the first ten days of life, they may sometimes pass a little stool while farting. Their stomachs often make gurgling sounds. Due to immature gastrointestinal development in infants, there is often poor coordination of intestinal motility at different stages, leading to intestinal gas—gurgling stomach sounds, excessive gas release, frequent farting, and frequent crying for no apparent reason. In medicine, this condition is referred to as infant colic. Infant colic refers to healthy infants who cry for at least 3 hours daily and at least 3 days per week, with episodes lasting more than 3 weeks. Most infants begin experiencing colic 2 to 3 weeks after birth and gradually improve by 3 to 4 months. This is clearly caused by poor digestion. Eating some easily digestible foods would help.