Dear Lactnetter's,
    If you are not "pooped out" over the stool thread, I would like to expand
a little more about meconium passage, even though I am aware that the initial
thread was about parameters of stooling after hospital discharge or as an
indicator of intake.
    Mari's excellent clarification of Hirschsprung's disease (I wondered
about the "solids" reference in an earlier post and I am glad she clarified
it) spurred me to send the following information about another common reason
for lack of meconium stools: meconium ileus.
    "Meconium ileus occurs in 5% to 10% (more recent accounts list 10 to 15%)
of newborns with cystic fibrosis and is virtually diagnostic of CF.  These
infants fail to pass meconium in the first day or two of life, develop
abdominal distention, and proceed to bilious emesis.  Occasionally
perforation occurs and peritonitis accompanied by shock intervenes.
Occasionally, obstruction occurs lower in the intestinal tract and causes
only delayed passage of meconium.  This condition has been termed the
meconium plug syndrome and is much less specific of CF."
Boat, Thomas in Textbook of Respiratory Medicine WB Saunders, 1988 Pg 1126

    Again, this condition is usually seen in the hospital environment but can
be "digested"  with the info we are accruing on early stooling, or lack of.
Treatment includes immediate intestinal surgery or special enemas.  Diagnosis
is often made in utero via ultrasound.  It is more common than one would
think.  In the US,  CF is present in 1 in 2,500 births; 10 to 15% of babies
with CF have meconium ileus and 1% have meconium peritonitis.
   "In the gut, reduced water secretion probably accounts for the sludging of
intestinal contents and the presence of meconium ileus..."  Konstan, M in
"State of the Art: Cystic Fibrosis" Am J Respir Crit Care Med Vol 154 pg
1229, 1996.

Jan Ellen Brown RDH IBCLC
In snowy and icy Charlotte, NC, USA

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html