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Hirschsprung disease (a birth defect of the intestine): the signs, the tests, surgery, and after
For a parent or caregiver of a newborn who has not had a first bowel movement or has green vomit and a swollen belly; of a baby or child whose constipation laxatives don’t help; or of a child just told it is Hirschsprung disease. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what it is, the types, and who gets it; the signs in a newborn and in an older child; enterocolitis, and when to go to the hospital; the tests; the pull-through and ostomy surgery, and after; and eating. It builds the words to say to your child’s doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card.
Right now
- Does your child with Hirschsprung disease have a swollen belly, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, no energy, or bleeding? NIDDK says these can be enterocolitis: go to the hospital right away, before or after surgery; it can be life-threatening. NIDDK does not name 911. Ours: if you believe it is an emergency, call 911.
- Is it all too much, or is someone thinking of ending their life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: A child’s health: find the right page · Belly and stomach: find the right page · Constipation in a baby or child · Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child.
- Related: Bowel control problems · Short bowel syndrome · A lower GI series.
- Getting ready: Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · My medicines · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When you need food.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Hirschsprung Disease (last reviewed September 2021) and its Spanish page Enfermedad de Hirschsprung (last reviewed September 2021), which say the same. The numbers (about 1 in 5,000 newborns; 3 to 4 times more common in boys; about 80% short-segment; about half diagnosed in the first year, about 80% by age 7 and more than 90% by age 13; about 30% with other conditions; about half with ongoing problems after surgery; 48 hours) are NIDDK’s. Ours: when to call 911 (NIDDK says to go to the hospital right away, and does not name 911); 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the drawings, the section on clinical trials, the references NIDDK cites, NIDDK’s links to other sites, and the brand names of oral rehydration solutions. We give no doses. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.