Why is my baby’s pee a weird colour?
Babies urinate in a rainbow of colours. Fortunately, the shade of urine serves as a status report for your infant’s health. It’s natural to feel alarmed by unusual colours, but they can provide valuable insights into your baby’s hydration status, metabolic functioning, and overall internal health. Let’s look at some common shades of pee and figure out what they mean
Light yellow or transparent:
This is the ideal colour. This shows that your baby is healthy, happy and hydrated. Babies usually won’t pee in this colour in the first few weeks of life, so don’t be worried if your child’s urine looks different from yours. After their body’s settle into a normal routine, you can expect to see this colour.
Dark yellow pee:
This shade is also normal. It can indicate dehydration, but babies in their first few weeks may pee in a darker shade as their metabolic systems adjust to digesting and processing nutrients. In slightly older infants with a fixed sleep cycle, the first pee of the day may be darker. It’s completely normal and not to be worried about.
Pink pee:
Highly concentrated urine sometimes appears pink. This is also a shade common in the first few weeks of life. There’s no problem as long as your baby pees a lot, the intensity of the colour goes down after a while. If it persists for too long, the colour may be from blood. If it’s a cut or internal bleed, the colour will persist even after changing diapers. At this point, you should call your doctor.
Reddish-brown or brick coloured pee:
Sometimes, urate-crystals form in pee overnight, giving a brick-red colour. It’s also caused by minor dehydration. Switching to formula to regulate your baby’s water intake might be a good idea. This problem should resolve itself after a little while. If the colour persists, it may be blood. Sitting with a shade chart and a used diaper is not ideal, so as a rule of thumb, if the colour persists, there’s something wrong.
Light red, orange or brown pee:
This usually indicates blood in the urine. It could be from a cut in the sensitive area, an internal infection, kidney disease, or sometimes a rare disease like Alport Syndrome. You should have your baby examined by a professional. If you are sure your child is peeing blood (haematuria) based on the smell or the discomfort the child is showing, it’s best to take them to a doctor.
Dark red, or cloudy pee:
This is a sure sign of haematuria. It can be from a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) or a kidney infection. The cloudiness comes from pus cells, which are collections of white blood cells that die trying to fight an infection. Contact your doctor immediately if this happens. Prevention is better than cure for such young children, as antibiotics can be harsh on a developing gut.Use diapers and sterile wipes from trusted brands, and always wipe from front to back to prevent any UTIs.
Blue pee:
Rare but true, your baby can pee blue. This is a clear indicator for the rare disease Blue Diaper Syndrome. This is caused by the body misusing calcium due to a genetic mutation. The excess calcium turns the urine blue. Either that, or your baby was secretly whisked away for a diaper ad!
How do I detect these diseases early?
Contact your doctor, and us!
To diagnose rare diseases that cause haematuria, doctors will schedule an NGS test if your newborn wasn’t screened at birth. This shade list should help you judge the issue before going to the doctor. Tell us if this was useful to you! If your newborn was not screened, look for the nearest centre that provides this service, or recommend our NBS services to your doctor!
We are doing our best to bring Newborn Screening and other neonatal technology to hospitals around India, starting with the Delhi-NCR area. If your paediatrician does not have access to the tools needed to check for rare diseases in your infant, put them in touch with us. It’s our mission, and we are glad to help.
Now that you know what signs to look out for, you can advocate for your baby the way they need you to. Let us know if this helped or if you have any questions!
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