It’s completely normal for newborns to pass black stool in their first few days of life. This early stool is called meconium, and it consists of materials the baby ingested in the womb—like amniotic fluid, bile, and shed intestinal cells. Meconium is thick, sticky, and dark green to black in color. After a few days, a baby’s stool should transition to yellow or brown as feeding begins and digestion kicks in.

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