How to Treat Your Newborn's Diarrhea

Diarrhea is one of the most common childhood issues in the United States and around the world. But, when you have a newborn or young infant, it's not always easy to tell the difference between normal poop and diarrhea. Here's how to tell if your baby is experiencing diarrhea, along with information about the causes, treatments, and dangers of diarrhea in newborns and infants.

How Do I Know if My Baby Has Diarrhea?

Normal baby poop can be a variety of colors and consistencies. It's even typical for newborns to have many bowel movements each day. So, how can you tell if your child has diarrhea?

Regular baby poop can look yellow, tan, brown, or green. It can be runny, soft, thick like paste, or more formed. A baby can have several poopy diapers a day or just one or two. What you find in your baby's diaper has a lot to do with your baby's age and diet.

Newborns can have a bowel movement in every diaper change, while older children may poop once a day or once every few days. How you feed your baby also affects her bowel movements.

Causes of Diarrhea in Newborns

A baby can get diarrhea for many reasons. Here are some of the general causes of diarrhea for all babies along with some causes related to breastfeeding and formula-feeding.

General Causes

Regardless of the type of feeding, diarrhea can develop in any child for a number of reasons. Here is an overview of the most common causes.

• Illness: Viruses, bacteria, fungal organisms, and parasites can cause infections that lead to diarrhea in children. Children in daycare and those who spend time around other children can catch germs that spread easily through contact with each other or toys.
• Solid foods: If your baby is older and eating solid foods, changes in their diet can lead to changes in your baby's bowel movements. Dairy products, eggs, gluten, peanuts, and shellfish can cause food allergies and sensitivities that lead to diarrhea.
• Medications: If your baby has to take medicine such as antibiotics, it could upset their stomach and cause loose stools.
• Travel: Just as adults can develop diarrhea when traveling, so can children. Infants and young children may have an even higher risk. Be extra cautious when traveling with young infants.
• Medical conditions: Some medical conditions, such as inflammation of the bowels can cause diarrhea.
• Teething: Teething itself is not likely the cause of diarrhea. However, teething babies put everything in their mouth. Germs on toys, teethers, and little hands can easily find their way into your child's body leading to illness and diarrhea.
• Unknown: Sometimes there is not an obvious cause for baby diarrhea.

Breastfed Babies

Along with the general causes above, breastfed babies can develop diarrhea for any number of reasons. Here's an overview of the most common reasons.

• Diet: Some foods in your diet can cause allergies and sensitivities in your breastfed baby. Cow's milk, chocolate, gassy foods, spicy foods, and caffeine are the foods most likely to trigger a problem. You may have to evaluate your diet to try to figure out if something that you're eating could be causing your baby's diarrhea.
• Laxatives: Stool softeners and some mild fiber supplements or bulk-forming type laxatives are usually safe to use while you're breastfeeding. However, strong stimulant-type laxatives may pass to your baby and cause diarrhea. Talk to your doctor before taking a laxative when you're breastfeeding.
• Weaning: The introduction of new foods into an infant's diet can lead to stomach issues due to food sensitivities and allergies. Cow's milk is a common irritant that can cause diarrhea in younger children. If you're weaning to infant formula, keep in mind that many formulas are made from cow's milk.

Formula-Fed Babies

Along with the general causes above, newborns and infants who drink infant formula can develop diarrhea from allergies and other issues. Here's a closer look at the causes for diarrhea in formula-fed babies.

• Allergies: Newborns can get diarrhea from an allergy or sensitivity to the type of infant formula they begin to take. Many brands of infant formula are made from cow's milk, and the protein in cow's milk can cause a food allergy in babies. Infants can also have a sensitivity to soy-based formula.
• Contamination: Germs can make their way into infant formula in many ways. The powder can become contaminated, there may be germs in the water that you add to the powder or concentrate, and organisms can grow if the formula is not stored correctly.

Diarrhea in Newborns and Dehydration

When a baby has diarrhea, fluids leave the body. If the baby loses more fluids than he takes in through feedings, he can become dehydrated. Dehydration in newborns and young children can happen very quickly. Here's an overview of signs of dehydration to keep an eye out for.

Treatment of Diarrhea in Newborns

Treating diarrhea in babies is centered around keeping the baby hydrated. If the diarrhea is mild, you can often manage it yourself at home with the following tips:

Continue Feeding

The most important thing you can do to treat diarrhea in infants is to continue to feed your baby. Breastfeed or offer the bottle more frequently while your child has loose stools to provide extra fluids. 

You should not stop feedings to try to rest your child's stomach. A baby can become dehydrated very quickly without feedings, especially if the baby is losing fluids through diarrhea.

Care for Baby's Skin

Soiled diapers can irritate your baby's skin and cause a diaper rash, so change wet and dirty diapers often. Try to keep your baby's diaper area as clean and dry as possible.

Using a diaper ointment after each change can be soothing and add a protective barrier to your child's skin. Be sure to wash your hands after each diaper change to prevent the spread of germs.

Keep an eye out for the signs of dehydration listed above. Severe diarrhea that leads to dehydration may require treatment with intravenous (IV) fluids in the hospital.

Practice Good Hygiene

If your baby's diarrhea is caused by a stomach virus that's contagious, you'll want to be sure it doesn't spread. Wash your hands after changing your child's diaper or using the bathroom, and remind other family members to do the same.

When to Call a Health Care Provider

Diarrhea can be dangerous for newborns and young children because it can lead to dehydration and weight loss. An occasional loose poop is not usually a problem. However, if you see two or more watery bowel movements, your baby may have diarrhea. Contact a pediatrician or health care provider right away if:

• Your child has a fever or other symptoms along with diarrhea.
• There is blood in your baby's poop.
• Your child appears to be in pain.
• The baby is not eating well.
• The baby is excessively sleepy.
• Diarrhea does not go away within 24 hours.
• You notice any of the signs of dehydration.

Other Considerations for Newborns With Diarrhea

Diarrhea is so common that in children under five years old there are up to 35 million cases of diarrhea each year in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and approximately 1.7 billion cases worldwide.

Babies and young children can experience an episode of diarrhea about twice a year. It affects children who take infant formula, those who breastfeed, and babies who take a combination of breast milk and infant formula. Although, there are some differences.