Patient's question:
A one-year-old and seven-month-old child can eat and has a good appetite, but they don't gain weight. They have bowel movements 2-3 times a day or more. Is there any way to regulate this? Thank you!Doctor's answer:
Babies who are normally breastfed can occasionally have light green stools. If the baby's stool is dark green, it indicates poor digestion. The cause of poor digestion may be that the mother has eaten foods or cold foods. Additionally, the mother's stress and anxiety can also affect the baby's stool.When the stool is acidic, bile contained within it oxidizes in the air to turn green. Bilirubin in bile is a yellow pigment, and when it stains the stool, it turns it yellow. After oxidation, bilirubin turns into biliverdin, which makes the stool green. When the stool is exposed to oxygen in the diaper, bilirubin oxidizes into biliverdin, causing the surface of the stool to turn green.
The stool has already been oxidized in the intestine and turns green before being expelled from the body. Therefore, green stools are not abnormal; they are a normal phenomenon, and there is no need to worry about them.