The ability of the newborn to digest, absorb and metabolize food stuff is appropriate. The capacity of the stomach is reduced to about 90 ml, the emptying time is short, about 2.5 to 3 hours, and peristalsis is fast. These two factors increase the transit time of food pass through the stomach and colon. During the first weeks of life of the newborn may have a bowel movement after every meal.

The baby's intestine is longer in relation to body size than adults. Therefore, there is a greater number of secretory glands and a larger surface area for absorption compared with the adult intestine. There is a rapid and simultaneous non-peristaltic wave peristaltic waves along the entire esophagus. These waves, combined with an immature sphincter relaxed heart failure, making a common occurrence. Baby, s is the first meconium stool, which is sticky and greenish black. It consists of intrauterine debris, such as pigments biliary epithelial cells, fatty acids, mucus, blood and amniotic fluid. The passage of meconium should occur within the first 36 hours.

By Generally, the third day after commencement of feeding, feces transition appear. They are greenish brown to yellowish brown, less sticky meconium, and may contain some curdled milk. On the fourth day is spent a typical milk stool. In infants fed breast milk, the stools are light yellow to brown and pasty in consistency. They have a peculiar smell, similar to sour milk. In infants fed cow milk formula, the stools are pale yellow to light brown, are firmer in consistency, and have a more offensive odor.

Breastfed babies tend to have more stools that bottle-fed babies. The pattern of stool can vary widely, six stools one day may be normal for a baby, while a bank every two days can be normal for another. Some salivary glands are functioning at birth, but most do not begin salivating until about age 2 to 3 months if drooling is common. Enzymes are adequate to handle the protein and simple carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides), but poor production pancreatic amylase deteriorates the use of complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides). The pancreatic lipase deficiency impairs the absorption of fat, especially with the ingestion of foods high in saturated fatty acids as cow's milk.

The liver is immature, the majority of organs gastrointestinal. The transferase enzyme activity is reduced gluconyl affect the conjugation of bilirubin with glucuronic acid. This contributes to physiologic jaundice the newborn. It is deficient in the formation of plasma proteins. The decreased plasma protein concentration may play a role in edema is usually seen at birth.

Prothrombin and other clotting factors are low. The liver glycogen stores less at birth than later in life. Consequently, the newborn is prone to hypoglycemia, which can be prevented with early feeding.

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