What+is+a+baby%60s+stool+made+up+of+and+how+do+these+things+influence+its+colour+and+consistency%3F
The stools of babies are made of a mixture of undigested food, waste
products of the body, bacteria, mucus, cells shed from the lining of the gut,
and water.
Their colour is due primarily to certain bile pigments which are naturally excreted in the stool.
The bulk and consistency of the stools is determined largely by the balance between the amount of water and ‘non-digestible’ material (which holds water and makes the stools moist) within them.
The amounts of water and non-digestible material in the stools (and hence their size, and consistency) is affected by the milk and/or food that the baby is taking.
There is a relatively wide variation in what is normal, in terms of colour, size, shape, consistency and frequency.