What Color Should Newborn Poop Be? A Color Chart and When to Call

What color should newborn poop be?

Once the black, tarry meconium of the first few days has passed, newborn poop should be yellow, brown or green, shades the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls perfectly acceptable. The AAP describes mustardy yellow as the usual color for most breastfed babies, and yellow-tan with hints of green for formula-fed babies.

The symptom checker on HealthyChildren.org, the AAP's website for parents, says the only colors that may be caused by a disease are red, black and white.

Color	What it usually means	When to call
Black and tarry, first few days	Meconium, expected (AAP)	If you see none within 48 hours of birth (Cleveland Clinic)
Mustard yellow, seedy	Typical for a breastfed baby (AAP)	Not for the color alone
Tan, yellow-tan or brown	Normal; tan or yellow-tan is typical for a formula-fed baby (AAP)	Not for the color alone
Green or dark green	Normal (AAP)	Bright green with your baby not acting as usual (Cleveland Clinic)
Orange	Expected: newborn poo should be yellow or orange (NHS 111 Wales)	Not for the color alone
Red, or red streaks	Can be blood (AAP)	Always; large amounts of blood, immediately (AAP)
Black after the meconium days	Can be blood that has turned dark in the gut (AAP)	Always (AAP)
White, gray, clay, pale yellow or pale green	Can be a sign of liver disease (AAP, Liver UK, Perinatal Services BC)	Straight away, even with no jaundice (Liver UK)

How black meconium turns yellow over the first week is covered in feeding a newborn in the first 3 days.

Is green poop normal for a newborn?

Yes, green poop is normal in breastfed and formula-fed newborns, and the HealthyChildren.org symptom checker says it is most often caused by bile. The AAP's newborn guidance adds that green stools in a formula-fed baby should not cause alarm.

Very dark green poop is typically no cause for concern either, Cleveland Clinic says. It names an iron supplement or iron-fortified formula as the most usual cause, while the HealthyChildren.org symptom checker names bile.

In a breastfed baby, Cleveland Clinic says bright green, frothy poop may be seen when a baby switches breasts often and takes in more lower-fat milk. It adds that viruses can also cause bright green stools, so contact your pediatrician if your baby isn't acting as they normally do.

The HealthyChildren.org symptom checker calls green stools always normal, but Perinatal Services BC lists pale green among the warning signs of biliary atresia, covered in the next section.

What does white, gray or pale poop mean in a newborn?

White, gray, clay-colored or pale poop can be a sign of a liver problem, and the AAP says white poop needs to be brought to a doctor's attention as soon as possible, since the earlier it is assessed, the better.

Liver UK, the new name for the Children's Liver Disease Foundation and the British Liver Trust, says gray, white, clay or pale stools could be a sign of liver disease, and that a baby with them needs to see a pediatrician straight away, even with no signs of jaundice.

The HealthyChildren.org symptom checker sets a slower pace, listing light gray or white stools that happen 2 or more times as a reason to contact your doctor during office hours. The AAP, Liver UK and Cleveland Clinic say not to wait, so call your pediatrician as soon as you notice pale stools.

Cleveland Clinic explains that bile gives stool its color, so a baby who isn't producing bile passes stool that looks colorless, white or chalky. Pale stools are not always white: the HealthyChildren.org symptom checker says babies with blocked bile ducts have light gray or pale yellow stools.

Perinatal Services BC, which runs biliary atresia home screening in British Columbia, Canada, lists jaundice lasting longer than two weeks together with pale yellow, pale green, chalk white or clay-colored stools as warning signs. It asks parents to check their baby's stool color every day for the first month after birth, and to get in touch if they see an abnormal color at any time in that month.

Biliary atresia, a rare disease of the bile ducts in early infancy, is one cause of pale stools. StatPearls, a clinical reference on the NCBI Bookshelf, says its surgery, the Kasai procedure, is strongly associated with better bile flow and survival of the baby's own liver when done early, ideally before 60 days of life. It reports that after Taiwan introduced infant stool color cards, the share of Kasai procedures done before 60 days of life rose from 47% to 74%.

What does red or black poop mean in a newborn?

Red poop in a newborn can mean blood, and black poop after the meconium days can be blood too, so the AAP says both always warrant a talk with your baby's doctor.

The AAP says any amount of bloody poop should be evaluated, and notes that babies sometimes swallow blood during delivery, which can show up shortly after in their spit-up or poop. Streaks of blood on the outside of the stool can come from a minor irritation of the anus, it says.

For red stool, Cleveland Clinic says to call your pediatrician and bring in a stool sample for them to test for blood.

Black poop is a concern because, the AAP explains, blood typically turns from red to black over time in the intestinal tract, which does not apply to the first few meconium stools. Cleveland Clinic says thick, tar-like black stool is a cause for concern once a baby is more than three days old.

Very dark green can look black under poor lighting, the HealthyChildren.org symptom checker says, and smearing a little stool on white paper under a bright light often shows it is really dark green.

Is seedy, runny or watery poop normal for a newborn?

Seedy, soft and runny poop is normal for a breastfed newborn in the AAP's guidance, while watery poop that suddenly comes more often can be diarrhea. The AAP describes a breastfed baby's stools as yellow liquid mixed with particles like little seeds, and a formula-fed baby's as firmer, though no firmer than soft clay.

Because a young baby's stools are normally soft and a little runny, the AAP says mild diarrhea can be hard to spot. The signs it gives are a sudden increase in frequency, to more than one bowel movement per feeding, and unusually high liquid content.

Cleveland Clinic says to call your pediatrician if you can see blood or mucus in the stools. The AAP says to call immediately if there are large amounts of blood, mucus or water in the stool.

Hard or very dry stools may be a sign that a baby is not getting enough fluid, or is losing too much through illness, fever or heat, the AAP says. Typical amounts by age are in how much and how often a newborn eats.

How often should a newborn poop?

How often varies widely, the AAP says, and many newborns pass a stool soon after each feeding. Cleveland Clinic says that once the meconium has passed, a breastfed baby in the first week has three to four mustard-yellow, seedy, loose stools every 24 hours.

The AAP says some breastfed babies have only one bowel movement a week by 3 to 6 weeks and are still normal, as long as the stools are soft and the baby is gaining weight steadily and nursing regularly. Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Jason Sherman says stool patterns typically change around 2 to 3 months, often from several poops a day to one a day or every other day, which is nothing to be concerned about as long as the stools are soft. The day-by-day counts for the first weeks are in how many wet and dirty diapers a newborn should have.

When should you call your pediatrician about newborn poop?

• Poop that is white, gray, clay-colored or pale. Liver UK says your baby needs to see a pediatrician straight away, even with no signs of jaundice.
• Your baby still looks yellow after 2 weeks. StatPearls says jaundice persisting for more than 14 days warrants prompt evaluation.
• Red poop, red streaks or any blood in the poop (AAP, Cleveland Clinic).
• Black poop after the first few meconium stools (AAP).
• No meconium within 48 hours of birth (Cleveland Clinic).
• Large amounts of blood, mucus or water in the stool. The AAP says to call immediately.
• Diarrhea with a fever, a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C), in a baby under 3 months (AAP).
• Bright green poop when your baby isn't acting as they normally do (Cleveland Clinic).