Newborn and Infant Care

Hard bloody stool since I switched to soy

03/19/2008 06:53PM

Question:

My 8 week old was switched to soy formula for gas and fussiness and has continued to have hard bloody stools. It is very painful for her. Will this stop or should I switch formulas again?

Answer:

Blood stools are never normal and are something that you should talk to your child's health care provider about today.
The need to switch to a different artificial breast milk is something that only be decided upon by babies health care provider. When switching to any artificial breast milk, it is important to remember that it takes time for the other artificial breast milk to be out of the system.
Before changing again, you need to discuss the reasons for the change with the child health care provider. I would recommend that you keep a diary of what the baby ate, how much the baby ate, and then how they reacted to the feeding. If the baby is fussy, what time did the fussiness begin, and how long did it last and what worked well to comfort the child. Also keep an accurate description of the baby's stool with this log.
Armed with this information you and your health care provider can make a better informed decision.

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Response by:

Tina Weitkamp, RNC, MSN
Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing
College of Nursing
University of Cincinnati