Parents pay close attention to their baby’s meals and milestones as well as their poop. While your baby’s poop color may vary depending on their food and feeding patterns, white poop in babies who are otherwise healthy is uncommon and can indicate a major problem.
The color of your baby’s feces reflects their general health and digestive system. Green, red, yellow, and other colors can be found in a baby’s poop. A newborn’s first poop is usually black, known as meconium, and is excreted in the first few days after birth (1). It’s also common for the color of the stool to vary with the baby’s age (2).
Read on to know the different causes, symptoms, and treatment options for white or pale stools in babies.
Causes Of White Poop In Babies
The stool color of normal babies is brown-yellow due to bilirubin in the liver. Bile is composed of bile pigments, such as bilirubin and biliverdin, and bileiXA digestive juice produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder used for breaking down fats into fatty acids.salts. Bilirubin is yellow-green when produced in the liver. However, it turns brown or dark brown in the stool as it travels down the gastrointestinal tract (3).
When you observe that your baby’s poop is white, it indicates insufficient bile due to liver dysfunction or ducts’ blockage that transports bile.
The causes for white poop in babies can be:
1. Obstructive cholestasis
Cholestasis is the medical term given to slow-moving or static bile. The most common cause is obstruction of the bile duct. This condition is called obstructive cholestasis. The ducts’ blockage in the liver can occur due to the following reasons:
- Extrahepatic biliary atresiaiXA disease caused by the total or partial absence of bile ducts outside the liver.; it is the most common cause of obstructive cholestasis in 35%-45% of patients (4)
- Narrow bile duct
- Bile duct inflammation
- Bile duct cyst
- Liver infection
- Neonatal sclerosing cholangitisiXA rare autosomal recessive condition similar to biliary atresia.
- Cystic fibrosisiXAn inherited disorder that affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices.(5)
- Alagille syndrome; a chromosomal disorder characterized by a decrease in bile ducts, occurring in 1 in 70,000 live births (6)
2. Hepatocellular cholestasis
There is little or no bile produced due to damage to liver cells called hepatocytes, or bile cannot leave the liver cells that produce it. There can be many reasons for hepatocellular cholestasis:
- Hepatitis
- Certain medications
- Genetic diseases, such as short bowel syndrome
- Premature birth
- Metabolic diseases
3. Medications
If your infant or baby is prescribed an antacid containing aluminum hydroxide, or if the medicine contains barium sulfate from a barium enema, they may cause pale or white stools (7).
Steatorrhea is another medical condition that can cause the stool to appear pale or slightly white due to excess fat in the poop. Food allergies and intolerances, malabsorption disorders, such as celiac disease, and pancreatic insufficiency can result in steatorrhea in babies.
Symptoms That May Accompany White Stool In Babies
White stools indicate a problem with the baby’s liver. However, the white stool is not the only symptom of cholestasis. Other symptoms that cause white stools in babies include (8):
- Jaundice, yellow skin, and eyes
- Dark yellow urine
- Abdominal swelling
- Itching all over the body, especially palms and soles
- Vomiting or nausea
- Diarrhea
- Diarrheaor constipation
- Gas
- Foul-smelling stools
- Abdominal pain or tummy ache
Is White Poop In Babies Dangerous?
It can be alarming if you observe pale or white poop in your baby’s diaper because it is not normal. White baby poop indicates possible problems with the baby’s liver, gall bladder, or the duct system that transports the bile to the intestines (9).
Bile accumulates in the liver because it fails to move from the digestive organ. This may damage the liver and cause liver cirrhosisiXScarring of the liver tissue due to long-term damage to the liver. (8). If your baby passes white stools more than twice, you may need to consult a pediatrician (10). Also, check for other symptoms. If your baby has abdominal pain, swelling or bloatingiXA condition in which the stomach feels full due to gas. , or diarrhea-like loose stools, it is recommended that you see a doctor immediately.
Treatment For White Poop In Babies
Before treating babies for white poop, you must identify the underlying cause. The baby will have to undergo certain diagnostic tests to diagnose the cause. It is important to identify the underlying cause of white colored stool. Some of the diagnostic tests include:
- Blood tests
- CT scan and/or MRI to examine the baby’s duct system associated with the liver
- Ultrasound can give a clear picture of a baby’s abdominal organs
You must consider the following factors in the management of white poop:
- Your baby’s age
- The number and severity of symptoms
- The baby’s medical history
Depending on the cause of the baby’s white poop, your doctor will treat it with medication, and in some cases, surgical intervention may be necessary. Before the baby is two months old, you must pay attention to biliary atresia (8). Once the underlying cause of the baby’s white poop is resolved, the color of the baby’s stool will return to normal.
White poop in babies may indicate insufficient bile, which may indicate problems with the liver, gallbladder, or the duct that carries bile to the intestines. It may occur due to obstructive cholestasis, hepatocellular cholestasis, or medications. You may notice jaundice, abnormal swelling, dark urine, and other symptoms in your baby that is when you should talk to your doctor about the condition. After properly diagnosing and considering the baby’s age, the severity of the condition, and medical history, doctors may suggest options, such as medications and surgeries. It is important to take prompt medical advice for a good prognosisiXA medical opinion of the progression of a disease. and prevent complications.
Key Pointers
- White poop in babies is not so common and could be a cause for concern.
- Some possible causes of white poop are obstructive cholestasis, hepatocellular cholestasis, or medicines.
- It could be accompanied by gas, diarrhea, abdominal swelling, and itching.
A newborn baby’s poop can vary in color, from red, black, yellow, and white, as well as in frequency. Learn what’s normal and when should you be concerned in this informative video!
