Bowel Habits of Healthy Indian Children Less Than Two Years of Age

Abstract

Objectives: To define the normal frequency and consistency of stools of healthy Indian children between 0-24 months of age. Material and Methods: Parents of children aged up to 24 months were asked on a three-day recall basis about their child’s usual bowel habits and dietary history. Bowel habit was recorded in terms of number of stools the child passes per day, stool consistency, the age at which night bowel movements stopped, and age of regular bowel movements. Feeding type was recorded as exclusive breast feed, mixed milk feeds or on solid feeds. The bowel habits were correlated with the age of the child and type of feeding. Results: Children in first six months of life had stools which were predominantly “pasty” and “runny like cream” with high and variable frequency. Beyond six months of age they had “solid” and “pasty” stools with a frequency of one to two per day. On analyzing the combined effect of type of milk feed and age on bowel frequency and consistency children beyond one month of age either on exclusive breast feed or on mixed milk feed had similar frequency and consistency of stools. By one year of age more than 90% of children had attained regular stool pattern and no night time bowel movements. Conclusions: First of its kind study from India which describes the stool pattern of normal healthy children less than two years of age.