Patient's question:
My sister's child now has meconium on their body when the baby was born. I don't know how this happened, and I want to know if it's normal for a baby to have meconium on their body when they are born?Doctor's answer:
After birth, infants usually begin to secrete viscous dark green meconium. Meconium is composed of shed intestinal epithelial cells, swallowed amniotic fluid, fetal hair, bilirubin, and other hemoglobin breakdown products. Meconium is typically expelled within two or three days after birth. In some children, delayed meconium passage can worsen jaundice. If meconium is not expelled within 24 hours after birth, gastrointestinal malformations should be considered as a possible cause. After meconium is passed, the infant's stool gradually turns yellow.