What Are The Black Strings In Baby Poop?

Your little one’s bowel movement is probably the most significant indicator of their overall health. Therefore, it is no wonder why most parents are so invested in monitoring their child’s diapers!

As a new parent, encountering the black strings in a baby’s diaper can be alarming! It can raise a lot of disturbing questions! Is my baby sick? Do I need to take my baby to the pediatrician? Did my baby consume something dangerous? And many more!

Well, in most cases, you don’t have to worry about black strings in your kid’s poopy diaper. These strings are probably the pieces of an undigested banana. As your kid’s digestive system is not yet developed properly, most foods can pass through their tracts without being digested. Plus, babies are also famous for their frequent bowel movements. Therefore, it’s not that rare to find undigested food in their stool.

Continue reading to learn why there are black strings in your baby’s poop and when you should get worried and visit your pediatrician. 

Is Black Stringy Poop normal in Babies?

Generally speaking, black stringy poop is completely normal in children.

Almost all babies experience this kind of bowel movement at least one time in their life. However, most often, this kind of black stringy poop happens in the initial few weeks of their birth.

Most of the time, you don’t even have to worry about the black strings in your kid’s diaper because these are probably the result of undigested milk or food. Sometimes, these strings are caused by mucus available in your child’s stomach. 

Keep in mind that your little one has just started consuming food through their digestive tract. So, their digestive system is not yet matured, and they won’t be able to process all the nutrients available in their food. These black threads usually go away after a few weeks.

What are the Black Strings In my Baby’s Poop?

If there are black worm-like substances or threats in your child’s poop, you don’t have to imagine the worst. Most of the time, the causes of this type of bowel movement are completely harmless.

Here are some of the most common reasons why there are black threads in your child’s poopy diaper:

• Undigested Hair
• Fruit Fibers
• Actual Strings
• Stringy Mucus
• Meconium

To give you more insight, below, we have explained these reasons in detail.

Undigested fruit like banana

Undigested fruits, including bananas, are probably the most common cause of the black strings in your baby’s poop.

Most parents feed their children bananas because they are loaded with essential nutrients, including fiber. However, if you offer your infants food that contains too much fiber content, their undeveloped digestive system might not be able to process it. Bananas are both delicious and soft, and most babies love them. Therefore, sometimes your little one may eat more quantities of bananas than their bodies can process.

Eating too many bananas is not toxic for your babies. However, it is not an ideal thing to do either because their body will have to work hard afterward. If you are seeing black threads in their poop, you should certainly reduce their banana intake.

However, you can add bananas to your baby’s diet once they start to consume finger foods.

Thread or hair

Children are curious by nature, and they usually follow their stomachs. If your little one is of toddling or crawling age, they might consume thread as well as hair. Keep in mind that growing babies usually put everything in their mouths.

So, if you are seeing black threads or strings in your kid’s poopy diaper, it could be a thread or hair that got from a hairbrush. You can easily distinguish between hair and fruit fiber. For instance, fruit fiber is not that strong. It won’t be able to hold together while you’re cleaning your child’s behind. 

On the other hand, strings and hair are much stronger and stay in one piece as you struggle to wipe them away. If it’s a string, you should try to pull it very gently. Remember, if it doesn’t remove easily, you should simply leave it!

If a string has not been pushed through your kid’s digestive tracts completely and you try to pull it forcefully, it might lead to pressure or internal bleeding. Wait for a few days, and if it hasn’t pushed through on its own, visit your pediatrician and follow their advice.

In most cases, your doctor will recommend:

• Bringing the child for physical examination
• Offer your baby more fibrous food
• Ensuring your kid is drinking enough water

In most cases, the string will pass the digestive system on its own. Although, in some rare scenarios, you will need medical intervention to remove it.

Mucus

If your infant is still quite young, the black threads in their poop could be a result of mucus in their stomach. In that case, you don’t have to be concerned. If your baby is more than two years old, pay attention to the size, texture, and his or her behavior.

As younger children do not have a developed digestive system, there could be mucus in their stomach that has to be passed through their digestive tracts. This mucus is just some leftover that was formed when your little one was still in your womb.

If it’s the mucus, you don’t have to be worried. You can quite easily identify mucus as this leftover features the same appearance and texture like you are suffering from a cold or a horribly running nose.

Unlike the cold and running nose, this mucus is dark brown or black in color because of the presence of toxins that are usually released during regular bowel movements.

Meconium

Meconium is the earliest stool resulting from defecation. This stool is formed during pregnancy and is released after the birth of your little one. This substance is quite important for your baby; it protects their sensitive intestines as they form.

The black strings in your baby’s poop might be meconium. This substance usually passes through your child’s digestive system within the first few weeks of birth. 

If you see meconium in your infant’s stool, you don’t have to worry. In fact, this condition indicates that your baby is adjusting pretty well to the outside world.

When should I worry about Black Stringy Poop?

Well, in most cases, you don’t even have to be concerned if you are seeing black strings in your kid’s poop. It’s a possibility that these threads are a result of some undigested fiber, hair, or strings. However, there are still some possibilities in which you might have to get worried.

In this part of the article, we will briefly discuss all these possibilities to put overactive parents at rest. Of course, in all these scenarios, your baby will need medical assistance, and you might have to visit your pediatrician for your little one’s sack.

That being said, here are two most significant things to consider that are related to black stringy poop:

• Other symptoms
• Too much hair or string

Without further ado, let’s discuss both of these factors in detail.

If it’s accompanied by other symptoms

So, your kid has black threads in their poop, but there are some additional symptoms as well – what should you do?

Food intolerance and allergy can certainly cause nasty diapers. However, these conditions usually come with some additional symptoms such as blood in stool, mild fever and runny nose. Furthermore, you might notice a strong diaper rash and inflamed backside of your kid as well.

Here are some of the most common sources of food allergies and intolerance in kids:

• Shellfish and Fish
• Tree Nuts
• Wheat
• Milk
• Soy
• Eggs
• Peanuts

If your baby is suffering from a food allergy, it’s always recommended to visit your pediatrician immediately to have it checked. If the symptoms are severe and more forceful, such as breathing problems, you should go to the hospital right away!

Once your baby reaches the weaning milestone, you should be extra careful. To protect your child from food allergies, you should offer them one solid food at a time. Try to stick with a single food for a few days and look for the symptoms.

If it’s more than a little bit of string

Babies usually put everything in their mouths, including hair and strings. If it’s just a small thread, you don’t have to worry. The undigested string and hair will surely pass through their digestive tracts in no time.

However, if it’s a big string, you might need to worry a little!

Even an adult’s digestive system cannot process hair effectively. So, if your child has consumed a big clump of hair, it will not pass the digestive tract right away. In that scenario, you should give it a day or two. If the clump affects your child’s bowel movement and causes constipation or pain, you should certainly visit your pediatrician.

To protect your kid from severe health constipations, you should keep them away from hairbrushes and sewing kits!