Copious amount of bloody stool in a newborn shortly after birth

Abstract

Melena neonatorum is not uncommon; it presents as bloody stool in newborns and is caused by ingestion of maternal blood. This case presents an infant who had multiple episodes of copious amount of blood in his stool starting at 10 min of life, which raised multiple concerns requiring further investigation. The alkali denaturation test confirmed that the blood was maternal; however, due to the amount of bloody stool and the time required for the alkali denaturation test to result, further workups such as abdominal radiograph and hemoglobin/hematocrit were completed to ensure nothing was overlooked. Our infant remained clinically stable under the newborn nursery care, and did not require a higher level of care. He was discharged with his mother at 52 Hours of Life with a follow-up appointment the next day with the Primary Care Physician.