While Formula Sense focuses on what goes in a baby, parents often have questions about what comes out of baby! In this article, I’ll answer some common questions about baby poop colors and what they can mean about your baby’s health.

What Do Baby Poop Colors Mean?

Poop is mostly just three things:

Water
Bacteria
Unused (undigested) nutrients

The color of normal poop depends on the left over nutrients, how fast food is digested, and the natural pigments in digestive juices. Black, red, and grey poop however point to a problem with digestion.

What is Newborn Baby Poop?

The very first baby bowel movement is called meconium. It is very dark, green-black and sticky. Some parents describe it as being like motor oil. The Cleveland Clinic website has good picture of meconium.

Meconium doesn’t contain digested food. It is made from things the fetus swallows while in the uterus, such as skin cells, mucus, hair (if your baby is born with hair) and amniotic fluid. Meconium usually passes with this the first 24 hours, although it can sometimes take 2 days.

Doctors become concerned when a baby has not passed meconium within 48 hours, because this delay may be a sign of a disease or serious medical condition.

Babies can have multiple bowel movements with meconium in them in their first 2 days After meconium passes, stool changes to shades of yellowish-brown and sometimes greens.

What Baby Poop Colors are Normal?

Yellow, brown, and orange are the most commonly seen colors. Babies won’t stick to one color, especially when they are eating solids. Color variation comes from the different amount of pigments found in foods and digestive juices (especially bile).

What Baby Poop Colors are Not Normal?

These poop colors are warning signs that something may be wrong! Call your baby’s doctor right away if you notice any of these colors.

Black Poop

Aside from meconium, poop should never be black or have black streaks in it. Black poop happens when blood is in the stool and it suggests bleeding in the upper part of the GI tract (stomach or small intestines). Make an appointment to see the pediatrician right away if you notice black poop.

Small specks or dots of black can also show up in the poop of breastfeeding babies whose mother has cracker or bleeding nipples. Baby has digested a little blood, but this is not a danger to your baby. Nonetheless, always check in with the nurse practitioner or doctor if you see any black. They will want to check that there isn’t a more serious problem. And, they can help you get help to correct any breastfeeding problems causing cracking and bleeding nipples.

Red Poop

Red poop usually means blood, but, not always. Babies who are eating solids, can have red poop when they eat beets or had a food that had some red coloring in it (e.g. fruit punch).

If your baby hasn’t eaten anything red, then it is time to call the doctor. Red poop suggests a problem in the GI tract, but one that is much further down the tract than with black poop.

Red poop can be caused by problems with the rectum, as well as with constipation, hard poop. Make an appointment to see the pediatrician right away if you notice any more than a few drops of blood or blood that happens with soft stools. If constipation is causing red poop, work with your health provider to treat it.

White or Very Light Grey Poop

Do not ignore pastel colored poop. White, grey-clay, and chalky yellow colored poop needs to be assessed as soon as possible. This is the sign of a very rare and very serious condition of the liver and bile ducts. Contact your health professional right away.

What Causes Green Baby Poop?

Green colored poop is common in young babies. It is just another normal variation in poop colors, though occasionally it does point to a problem. Green poop rarely is a sign of a serious medical problem. Poop can turn green It can for no particular reason or happen because of diet, illness or food intolerance.

Therapeutic Formulas and Green Poop

Green poop is common with therapeutic formulas containing extensively hydrolyzed proteins or only amino acids.

Breastfeeding infants can have green poop when baby is getting more watery foremilk than the fattier hind milk. This is called a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. This isn’t a problem with your milk or milk supply!

Therapeutic formulas cause green poop, because they move through the digestive system a little faster than standard formulas. The body uses bile to digest fats. Bile starts off a yellow-green color and slowly changes to brown as food moves through the digestive tract. When the food moves a little quicker, it doesn’t have a chance to turn brown and comes out green.

Other Reasons for Green Poop

Common viruses can also cause green poop, especially if you also notice mucus in the stool too. If you notice this and your baby has a fever, is irritable or has other signs of illness, call your pediatrician.

Iron-supplements and taking antibiotics can also cause green poop. Eating green colored foods like spinach can also cause green poop.

What are Baby Poop Warning Signs?

Call your baby’s pediatrician if you notice:

Runny poop or diarrhea that is any color. Babies can quickly become dehydrated with diarrhea.
Mucus in poop or poop that looks slimy. Poop should not glisten! Don’t ignore mucus. If you notice anything like mucus, take a picture and tell your baby’s doctor about it. Mucus can be a sign of an infection, virus or food allergy. Certainly, it can happen briefly with teething or drooling a lot.
Red flag symptoms, which include vomiting, feeding refusal, dehydration, dark urine, fewer wet diapers, listlessness (not active or floppy)

What to Do When you Have Poop Concerns

Never hesitate to talk to your baby’s doctor, nurse or pediatric dietitian about poop concerns. Changes in poop can be early signs of a medical problem.

Yes, please take a picture…

Pictures are worth 1,000 words when it comes to baby poop. If you are concerned about poop color, snap a picture. Really, it is a HUGE help to have a poop picture when determining if testing or other medical evaluation is needed.

Show pictures to your health provider at the beginning of the appointment. Often parents wait towards the end of the visit to tell me they have a picture. I promise, we don’t think it is weird. It is very helpful.

It is also ok to send the picture through the electronic medical system (e.g. My Chat) or through another confidential communication system.

What is the Best Resource for Baby Poop Colors

Johns Hopkins University has two excellent resources to help parents decide if a trip to the doctor is needed.

Their Stool Color Guide includes diaper pictures. These pictures are not for squeamish people. These are literally pictures of poop.
PoopMD+ is a free iPhone app that evaluates the poop color of babies under six months old. You’ll get immediate feedback whether the color is in a range that may not be normal. This app is also in part a research project.

Taking Home Points

Black, red, and light grey poop are colors of concern. Contact your pediatrician right away if you see these colors. No matter the color poop, contact a professional right away if your baby is vomiting, listless (not active or floppy), has dark urine or very few wet diapers or is refusing to eat.
Baby poop comes in many colors. Yellow, brown, orange, and green are all normal colors for baby poop. Poop color can change. It depends on food eaten and how fast it moves through the digestive tract.
Green poop is rarely a cause for concern. Expect green poop when changing to a therapeutic formula with altered proteins.

A Quick Guide to Baby Poop Colors