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Diarrhea is when there is an abnormal increase in the frequency or liquidity of your baby or child’s poop.

Although not dangerous in itself, it can hint at more serious problems. Diarrhea means that the food your child is eating is passing too quickly through his digestive tract for him to retain any of the water contained in it. If he loses too much fluid he can become dehydrated which is a very serious condition.

Keep in mind that babies on a milk diet will have frequent liquid–consistency bowel movements and these are nothing to worry about. A newborn baby who is breastfed can have anything up to 10 yellowish and runny bowel movements a day. Newborn babies can’t store food for very long in their digestive systems, so you may notice he has a bowel movement with or after each feed. By the time your baby is a month old he’ll probably start to have fewer bowel movements. Bottlefed babies have fewer bowel movements from the get–go, more usually one a day, and they’re much firmer.

When your baby starts to eat solids his poop will become firmer and less frequent. Loose frequent bowel movements at this age could signal food poisoning, as well as infections caused by bacteria or viruses. If you notice your baby has frequent smelly, watery stools that may be accompanied by a fever or vomiting he may have diarrhea.

Treatment
Call your pediatrician if your baby is under three months and has diarrhea or is he’s over three months and has diarrhea along with vomiting and a fever. Diarrhea is potentially dangerous for babies and young children because loss of fluids can result in dehydration.

Read more: Diarrhea in Children