As nurses, one of our many roles encircles poop detective. It is one of our favorite questions to ask patients. “Have you had a bowel movement today?” Next time your in the hospital you will see, it could be a way to see how experienced a nurse is. As a new nurse one might be shy about bringing it up, but as experience and confidence bestows a nurse it will be one of the first questions of the day, they may even joke about it with you. And you can bet if you don’t give them the right answer or any ideas that there may be a problem you will get a whole slew of question. The Poop detective arrives on scene in the shape of your nurse… they may even make you save your poop so we can expect it. No wonder nurse humor at lunch hour is so dark (one may say even dark as “brown” humour…) Nonetheless a perfect bowel movement is always on the horizon and a serious goal of nurses.
Now for brand new babies poop is very important and there are lots of changes. The first poops of a newborns life are called Meconium. It’s all the digestive material that your babe has ingested in utero, the buildup of months of swallowing the amniotic fluid. Usually it takes a day or two for your babe to rid this matter, and as nurses we are very interested in this- When? Where? How much? and maybe even, What you were wearing when this happened? May seem like a weird question, but it’s important because problems can arise quickly and can be quite serious. So be sure to know how often and what different poops are normal, what isn’t, and when to contact your health care provider.
Now I will bestow you as a parent’s part of the poop patrol! Get on the brown wagon…
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