Under normal circumstances a newborn infant should pass urine within the first 4 hours after birth. Many infants pass urine during the birthing process or when they receive their first bath.  Sometimes this first passage of urine may be missed--the urine may be mixed with stool or there may be a normal delay in urine passage. Infants should pass urine as often as every hour or as infrequently as once every 4 hours.  The frequency of wet diapers depends on how well the infant is feeding and the environmental conditions.  For example, in a hot environments and infant may urinate less frequently. Urination should never hurt in there should never be blood in the urine.  Urine should be light or dark yellow, but many be some light at times to appear perfectly clear.  Typically, urine in the newborn has little or no odor.

A baby's first stool or bowel movement is dark black, brown or green and is tar-like.  This stool is called meconium and is typically passed within 24 hours after birth.  Some infants pass this stool before birth leading to what is called meconium-stained fluid.  Meconium-stained fluid may be a sign of a difficult delivery or infant distress prior to birth.  Meconium in amniotic fluid may lead to lung inflammation since the amniotic fluid fills a fetus's lungs prior to birth.  Meconium-type stool may be present for several days. Infant stools then become runny, yellow, and seedy.  The stools often have the color of mustard.  There are often small bits of debris described as seed like.  These bits of stool look like clumps of cottage cheese. Formula fed infants typically have thicker and more frequent stools than breastfed infants. A newborn may have a dirty diaper as frequently as once every few hours--especially after or during feeds.  Breast fed infants may have stools as infrequently as once per week.

According to the Home Safety Council, drowning in the home environment occurs primarily in bath tubs and swimming pools.  Around 80% of the victims are children under age 4.  It is the leading cause of accidental death in children between the age 1-4 in United States.  Three children die from drowning every day in the United States and most of these accidents are preventable.