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Bowel habits of healthy Australian children aged 0-2 years
E B Tham1, R Nathan, G P Davidson
1South Australian Paediatric Gastroenterology Unit, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
Insights
Stool frequency in healthy Australian children decreases with age, with younger infants having more frequent bowel movements. Breastfed infants tend to have looser stools and greater variation in frequency compared to formula-fed infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Gastroenterology
- Child Health
Background:
- Understanding typical bowel habits is crucial for identifying potential health issues in infants and young children.
- Variations in stool frequency and consistency can be influenced by age, diet, and other factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish normative data for bowel habits in healthy Australian children up to two years of age.
- To investigate the influence of age and feeding type on infant bowel movements.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 140 healthy Australian children was studied, divided into six age groups.
- Parents meticulously recorded daily bowel habit data for one week for each child.
Main Results:
- Stool frequency significantly decreased with increasing age, from over two stools daily in neonates (0-14 days) to 21% in toddlers (13-24 months).
- Breastfed infants exhibited more frequent and looser stools than those fed infant formula and solids.
- Breastfed infants also demonstrated a wider range of stool frequency compared to formula-fed infants.
Conclusions:
- Bowel movement frequency and variability in healthy Australian children are influenced by both age and feeding type.
- These findings provide valuable reference data for assessing the bowel habits of Australian children within their first two years of life.
Objective:
To define the bowel habits of healthy Australian children aged up to 2 years.
Methodology:
One hundred and forty children were recruited in six age categories with a minimum of 20 children per category. Data on bowel habit was recorded by parents daily for 1 week.
Results:
Stool frequency decreased with age. Ninety-five per cent of infants 0-14 days passed more than two stools per day compared with 21% at age 13-24 months. Breastfed infants passed more frequent and looser stools than children fed infant formula and solids and also showed a wider variation in frequency.
Conclusions:
Mean stool frequency decreased with age as did the variation. This is a combined effect of age and feed type. These data can be used as a guide to the bowel habit of healthy Australian children.