Meconium

The short definition

Meconium is a baby's first few poos — thick, sticky and dark green — in the first days after birth.

What it actually means

It is not like any nappy he has imagined. Meconium is thick, sticky and almost black-green, closer to tar than to anything else.

It is also the nappy he is most likely to be handed. A partner usually takes on the changes in the first days in hospital. So meconium is often the first thing a dad meets with a wipe in his hand. Knowing what is coming is the difference between a shock and a job.

It passes after the first few days, and the nappies change colour and texture as feeding gets going.

Meconium can also be passed before birth, while bub is still in the womb. That is why the word gets said in a delivery suite as well as on a ward.

Where Dadda will hear it

Twice, in two different tones. Calmly on the postnatal ward, as "has bub passed meconium yet?" — a question the staff ask and record.

And sometimes during labour, said between the midwife and the doctor rather than to the parents. If it is said that way, they will explain what it means for this baby. That conversation is theirs to have, and it is not on this page.

Not to be confused with

• A normal newborn nappy. Meconium is the first few only. What follows looks and smells completely different, and the change is expected.
• Something going wrong, by default. Meconium is the ordinary first poo of every baby. The word on its own is not a warning.

Also look at

• Read the full item: nappies