Baby poo: a visual guide (photos)

Most new parents find baby poo quite surprising! It has so many colours and consistencies that even experienced parents may not have seen them all.

This photo guide to baby poo will give you a good idea of what's normal and what's not as your newborn grows, drinks breastmilk or formula and starts eating solids.

Be warned: the pictures aren’t pretty!

Expect to find greenish-black coloured, tarry, sticky stools in your newborn's nappy for the first few days. This is known as meconium (mec for short), and is made of amniotic fluid, mucus, skin cells and other substances your baby swallowed in the womb. It doesn't really smell, so you may not realise straight away when it's time for a nappy change.

When your baby is two to four days old, their stools will become less sticky and lighter in colour - sort of an army green. This transitional stool is a sign that they’ve started digesting breastmilk or formula.

If your baby is exclusively breastfed, their stools will become a yellow or slightly green colour, and have a mushy or creamy consistency. Breastfed poo can look like mustard-coloured cottage cheese, and may be dotted with little seed-like flecks. It often smells surprisingly sweet.

There are many shades of colour that can be normal when it comes to breastfed poo. Your baby may occasionally do a poo that seems a bit greener than usual. As long as they seem well in themselves, there's no need to worry.

See your GP or health visitor if: Your breastfed baby is doing lots of green, watery poos, and seems unsettled.

Formula-fed babies have less runny stools that are often a similar colour and texture to peanut butter. They can vary from tan-brown or yellow-brown, to green-brown.

Some types of formula can make your baby’s poo appear more green. As long as they seem well, this is nothing to worry about.

See your GP or health visitor if: Your baby’s poo is green and watery, and your baby seems unsettled.

Formula-fed poo also smells a bit more like adult poo than breastfed poo does.

If you give your baby an iron supplement, their stools may turn dark green or almost black in colour. This doesn't happen often, but it's a completely normal variation that would make Popeye proud!

See your GP if: your baby's more than a few days old, their poo looks blackish, and they’re not taking an iron supplement. In rare cases, this can be a sign of bleeding in your baby's digestive system. It's not likely to happen to your baby, but you should get them checked out as soon as possible, just in case.

If there are black specks in your breastfed baby's poo, this could be a sign that they’re swallowing blood from cracked and bleeding nipples. The blood turns black when your baby digests it.

It's always a good idea to get any blood in your baby's poo checked out by your GP, but in most cases, black specks are unlikely to be anything to worry about.

Once your baby's eating solid foods, you'll quickly notice a change in their poos, especially if they’re breastfed.

Solid-food stools tend to be brown or dark brown and thicker than peanut butter but still mushy. They're also smellier.

You may notice that your baby's poo takes on the colour of the food you give them. For example, if you feed them carrots, their next poo may be orange. And a beetroot poo can look quite alarming!

After giving your baby a banana, you may notice black specks or threads in their poo. These are normal, and come from the middle part of the banana. As long as they don’t last, there’s no cause for concern.

Occasionally, your baby's poo will have identifiable chunks of food in it, particularly if you're doing baby-led weaning.

Not to worry! Your baby's still learning to chew, and their digestive system is still developing, so it's normal for some food to pass through their system without being fully digested.

See your GP or health visitor if: your baby’s poo consistently has undigested food in it. They’ll check to make sure your baby's intestines are working properly, and they’re getting all the nutrients they need.

It's not uncommon for healthy babies to do the occasional explosive or runny poo. But if your baby does several runny poos with no lumps in them, they could have diarrhoea. It can be yellow, green, or brown, and may seep or explode out of the nappy.

Diarrhoea can be a sign of an infection or allergy, and if it lasts for a while without being treated, can lead to dehydration.

See your GP or call NHS 111: your baby has watery stools for more than a day or two, or you’re worried about them. Make an appointment sooner if they’re showing signs of dehydration - such as fewer wet nappies or a sunken fontanelle – or have any other symptoms that concern you.

Learn more about what to do if you think your baby has diarrhoea.

If your baby's stool is hard and looks like little pebbles, it’s likely that they’re constipated. Your baby may be visibly uncomfortable when they’re pooing and the poo may even be tinged with blood from irritating their bottom on the way out.

Constipation often happens in babies who are being introduced to solid foods, and it's usually nothing to worry about. But in some cases, constipation can be a sign of dehydration, a food allergy, or a medical condition.

See your GP or health visitor if: you think your baby is constipated.

Learn more about what to do if you think your baby is suffering from constipation.

Does your baby's nappy look like it's been slimed? Greenish poo streaked with shiny, glistening strings means there's mucus in it. This sometimes happens when a baby is especially drooly, since mucus in saliva often remains undigested. It can also happen when they have a cold, as they’ll naturally produce more mucus.

However, mucus in poo can also be a sign of an infection or allergy.

See your GP if: there’s mucus in your baby’s poo for several days, or they have any other symptoms that concern you.

If you have a baby girl, you may notice a few specks of blood in her nappy a few days after the birth. This is known as a false period. It happens because of the surge in hormones your body experiences in pregnancy, which in turn stimulate your baby’s womb to produce a period. It's perfectly normal, and no cause for concern.

In boys, and girls after the first few days, bright red blood can show up in baby stools for a few different reasons. For example, constipation or nappy rash can irritate your baby's bottom and make it bleed. Or your baby may swallow a little blood if you breastfeed them with cracked nipples. It can also be a sign of infection, allergies, or a problem with your baby's digestive system.

See your GP if: you notice any blood in your baby’s nappy. Although it doesn't necessarily mean your baby is ill, it's always best to get it checked out, just to be on the safe side.

• Find out if it's normal for your baby to poo after every feed.
• Learn more about how starting solids can affect your baby's poo.
• Get tips to make nappy changes easier.

Thanks very much to the BabyCenter US parents (and their babies!) who contributed to this photo gallery.