
What Causes Green Stool In A Child?

My new born baby, XXXX is 24 days old.
Sir, these are our concerns
1. While farting,stool in small amount infact in drops is coming out. Is it normal.
2.From his face expression we feel he is putting pressure for farting/potty most of the time. And when we fold the legs upside, he comfortably do potty
3. Elders at home say it is good for body massaging of the baby using Johnsons baby oil daily and once in a week massaging with Pure Ghee. Is this ok?
4.Elders at home also say that giving ripe water once a week will ease the potty of the baby. Is that correct? Is it ok to give ripe water once a week?
Elaborately explained
Detailed Answer:
ThankThanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
Let me emphasize on the fact that breast milk is the best possible milk for a baby and there can be no alternatives for the same. Most formula milks are cow milk based and hence difficult to digest. Moreover they make the child more prone to complications and infections. Mother's breast milk is produced on the demand of the baby. Hungrier the baby, more vigorous is the suck. More is the suck, more is the amount of breast milk produced. Giving formula automatically reduces the demand of the baby and thereby the production of breast milk. All you need to do is to switch back to exclusive breast feeding and the production will increase automatically. All you need to do is to monitor the urine output. If the frequency is more than 6 times in 24 hours, you would know that the amount of feeding is adequate. If the amount of passage of urine is less or if the child is lethargic you would need to take the child to a doctor without delay.
For a baby of this age, it is normal to pass stool several times a day or even after each feed. Alternatively the child may pass stool once in 10 days and that is normal too. Unless the stool is hard and pellet like, you need not grow concerned. It is also normal to pass green stool or a combination of yellow stool. The green colour occurs due to rapid transit through large intestine where the bile pigments do not get adequate time to convert to the yellow colour of stool. It is OK for some mucus to be there in the stool. It is OK if a few drops come out while farting.
Oil is not absorbed through the skin and so I would not recommend use of oil. Nevertheless, tactile stimulation (or touch therapy) is invaluable and almost equivalent to the baby massage and hence I would not discourage it. Oil is not essential, but if you are to use it, AD Vitamin Oil or Johnson's baby oil can be used. I would not recommend ghee.
You should burp the baby for at least 15-20 mins after each feed. All you need to do is to hold the baby head end elevated for this duration. The extra air taken in would escape and the milk will not regurgitate back from the stomach to the food pipe. In case of unexplained crying it could be due to abdominal distension where gripe water could provide relief but not for easing passage of stool.
Let me know if you have further queries.
Regards

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