BOWEL HABITS OF HEALTHY AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN AGED 0-2 YEARS

Objective: To define the bower habits of healthy Australian children a ged up to 2 years. Methodology: One hundred and forty children were re cruited in six age categories with a minimum of 20 children per catego ry. Data on bowel habit was recorded by parents daily for 1 week. Resu lts: Stool frequency decreased with age. Ninety-five per cent of infan ts 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 st ools than children fed infant formula and solids and also showed a wid er variation in frequency. Conclusions: Mean stool frequency decreased with age as did the variation. This is a combined effect of age and f eed type. These data can be used as a guide to the bowel habit of heal thy Australian children.