Baby Colics

All babies cry, it’s one of the main ways they communicate. But some babies cry more than others do. And some, although they’re healthy, well-fed and well cared for, seem to cry inconsolably. If your baby cries about the same time each day and nothing you do seems to comfort him or her, your baby may have colic.

Colic isn’t a disease, but a pattern of excessive crying with no apparent cause. This frustrating and largely unexplained condition affects about one in 10 infants. Colic usually starts a few weeks after birth, peaks at about 6 weeks of age and usually improves markedly by your baby’s third to fifth month.

Although colic can be extremely distressing for both you and your child, you can take comfort in the fact that it’s not permanent. In fact, in a matter of weeks, when your baby is happier and sleeping better, you’ll have weathered one of the first major challenges of parenthood.

Signs and symptoms
Although some people use the word “colicky” to describe any fussy baby, a truly colicky baby is an otherwise healthy, growing infant younger than 4 months of age with very specific signs and symptoms. These include:

Predictable, recurring crying episodes. A colicky baby cries around the same time each day, usually in the late afternoon or evening. Colic episodes may last anywhere from a few minutes to three hours or more on any given day, although babies with colic are likely to cry as long as two to three hours several days a week. The crying usually begins suddenly and for no clear reason. Your baby may have a bowel movement or pass gas near the end of the colic episode.

Activity. Many colicky babies draw their legs onto their abdomens, clench their fists, tense their abdominal muscles, or thrash around and appear to be in pain during these crying episodes.

Intense or inconsolable crying. Colic crying is intense, not weak or sickly. Your baby’s face will likely be flushed, and he or she will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to comfort.

If your baby is premature and develops colic, the crying episodes will likely start about six to eight weeks after your original due date. Because premature infants tend to be quiet and sleepy at first, you may worry that your baby is developing a serious problem if he or she suddenly turns colicky. That’s possible but not likely. It’s more likely that your preemie is just becoming more mature, and this sometimes includes developing colic.

Causes
No one really knows what causes colic. Researchers have explored a number of possibilities, including:

• Cow’s milk allergies or intolerance
• An immature digestive system that causes unusually strong intestinal contractions
• Food backing up into the esophagus — the passage connecting your baby’s mouth and stomach
• Increased intestinal gas
• Hormonal changes in your baby
• The diet of mothers who breast-feed
• Your baby’s temperament
• Maternal anxiety
• Postpartum depression
• Differences in the way your baby is fed or comforted

Yet it’s still unclear why some babies have colic and others don’t. If your baby does have colic, it’s important to remember that it’s not your fault.

Risk factors
There are many theories about what makes a child more susceptible to colic, but none seems to be consistently true. Colic doesn’t occur more frequently among firstborns or bottle-fed babies. And girls and boys, no matter what their birth order or how they’re fed, experience colic in similar numbers. Other factors that don’t seem to increase your baby’s risk of colic include:

First-time parents. If you’re a first-time parent, you’re no more likely to have a colicky baby than are experienced parents, although colic may be especially stressful for new parents.

Breast-feeding. If you’re breast-feeding, your baby’s colic probably isn’t the result of something you’ve eaten.

Formula feeding. Formula is usually not the cause of colic, although special formulas can help some babies.

Lactose intolerance. Although researchers have studied the role of lactose intolerance in the development of colic, the connection between the two isn’t clear-cut.

When to seek medical advice
No medications, either prescription or over-the-counter, always relieve colic safely and effectively. In general, consult with your doctor before giving your baby any medication to treat colic.

Also be sure to contact your baby’s medical caregiver if you’re concerned that your baby isn’t gaining weight, if your baby develops bloody or very hard stools, and anytime you feel your baby is seriously ill. Seek medical attention right away if you think your baby’s crying might be the result of a fall, injury or vigorous shaking.

If you feel you’re running out of ideas for handling your baby’s colic, consider asking your county health department or visiting-nurse association to recommend parenting support resources in your community. In addition, ask friends and family to help relieve you for short breaks. It’s very frustrating to listen to a baby cry, especially when the baby is your own.

Finally, if you find yourself becoming very angry because of the crying, call your doctor or bring the baby to your doctor’s office or a hospital emergency room right away. Remember: It’s extremely important not to ever shake a baby — serious and even life-threatening brain injury might result.

You can also talk to a professional and caring counselor by calling the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 4-A-CHILD, or (800) 422-4453. The service provides crisis intervention and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with technology to interpret in 140 languages.

Screening and diagnosis
Your doctor will likely diagnose colic on the basis of your baby’s behavior. He or she may also perform a general physical exam to see if other reasons exist for your baby’s distress. Doctors consider colic a “diagnosis of exclusion,” which means other, less common medical conditions are ruled out before determining that your baby has colic. These conditions might include intestinal or urinary infections, intestinal obstruction, cardiac problems or a corneal abrasion or other injury.

In general, pediatricians advise against subjecting most babies — even those with severe colic — to laboratory or X-ray tests.

Complications
Although you may find colic to be dramatic and stressful, you don’t need to worry that it will harm your baby. Children with colic still grow and develop normally. No evidence suggests that colic has any lasting medical consequences. And contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t increase the chances your child will develop sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or an umbilical or inguinal hernia.

And don’t worry about spoiling your baby. It’s fine to respond every time he or she cries. At this age, your baby is really too young to be spoiled. In fact, colicky babies bond with their parents just as other babies do.

Treatment
Your baby’s doctor may not be able to fix colic or make it go away sooner. But medical caregivers can assist by checking to see whether your baby is otherwise healthy. They can also help you take care of a colicky baby.

In general, prescription medications haven’t proved very helpful for colic, and some can have serious side effects. Even antacids with bicarbonate can be dangerous if used for long periods of time or in high doses.

Self-care
Experiment to discover what works best to ease your child’s colic. Remember, what works at one time may not work at another. Here are some ideas to try:

Offer food. Sometimes a colicky baby is really just hungry. Although it’s possible to overfeed your baby, it isn’t likely. Babies usually spit up or throw up what they don’t need. If you think your baby may be hungry, it’s fine to offer a feeding.

Offer a pacifier. Even if you’re breast-feeding, it’s probably OK to try a pacifier. Some babies have a more intense urge to suck as a self-soothing activity.

Try plain water or electrolyte water (Pedialyte). For some babies, plain liquids can be soothing.

Hold your baby. Cuddling helps some babies. Other infants quiet when they’re held closely and swaddled in blankets. Don’t wrap your baby too warmly at bedtime though, sometimes colicky babies wake up because they’re too warm. Most of all, don’t take it personally if your baby doesn’t always seem to want to be held.

Keep your baby in motion. Gently rock your baby in your arms or in an infant swing. Or lay your baby tummy down on your knees and then sway your knees slowly. Take a walk with your baby, or go for a drive with your baby in an infant car seat.

Sing to your baby. Even if lullabies don’t stop your baby from crying, they can keep you calm and help pass the time while you’re waiting for your baby to settle down.

Try constant background sound. Some infants with colic cry less when they hear a background sound that stays at a low, steady volume. When holding or rocking your baby, try making a continuous “shssss” sound. Other tricks to try include running a vacuum cleaner, turning on a kitchen or bathroom exhaust fan, or buckling your infant in a car seat placed next to a running clothes dryer. Never put the car seat on top of the dryer because it may fall off. A fish tank motor or blowing hair dryer turned away from the baby also may help. Or try playing a tape or a CD of environmental sounds such as ocean waves, a waterfall or gentle rain. Tapes also are available of a human heart beating. This sound may soothe your baby. Many babies even seem to respond to classical music. When your baby finally does fall asleep, a steady background sound makes it less likely you’ll accidentally wake your baby up. Some sounds, such as a ringing telephone, are too jarring. Turn the ringer off if a phone is in the room where your baby sleeps and put a “Baby is sleeping” sign on the door.

Try helping your infant pass a stool or gas. Rocking your baby facedown on your lap may help him or her pass a stool or gas. Sometimes gently massaging your baby’s stomach also works. It’s best to avoid giving an enema, but taking your baby’s temperature rectally can occasionally provide relief.

Use gentle heat. Try giving your baby a warm bath.

Use gentle touch. Softly massage your baby, especially around the tummy.

Experiment with feeding. Diet changes can sometimes be helpful, but it’s best to work out a plan with your doctor. If you breast-feed, you might try eliminating certain foods from your own diet such as cow’s milk, caffeinated drinks and vegetables in the cabbage family, including broccoli. Nursing mainly on one breast for a single feeding also may help. If you feed your baby formula, ask your doctor about trying a different formula. Feed your baby more often and in smaller amounts. Try switching to a new type of bottle, one with a different nipple, a different shape or a collapsible bag. Finally, adjust your baby’s feeding routine and position. Holding your child more upright may help. Burp your baby more often and try to feed more slowly. Adding rice cereal to your baby’s diet probably won’t help colic, even if you’ve heard otherwise. If you have a strong history of allergies, be especially careful about introducing new foods to your baby. Stay in touch with your pediatrician, especially if your baby develops allergy signs or symptoms, such as eczema.

Allow your baby some private time. Sometimes it helps to let your baby stay alone in a crib for at least five to 10 minutes. If nothing else seems to be working, maybe a brief timeout will help.

Call your doctor if your child’s condition seems to change. If you’re worried that your baby has a problem other than colic, trust your intuition and contact your primary care provider. You can help your doctor by noting in a diary what times your baby cries. Also record your child’s sleeping and eating patterns. Colicky babies are irritable, but continue to be interested in feeding — a baby not interested in feeding may be ill. You may want to call your doctor’s office every week to let the staff know how you and your baby are doing.

Coping skills
Caring for an infant, especially a colicky one, can be exhausting and stressful, especially for first-time parents. These suggestions may help:

Get backup care. Ask for support. Arrange for someone else to care for your child periodically so that you can have a break. Think of this time away as something you’re doing for your baby, rather than feeling guilty about it. Call on relatives, neighbors, friends and baby sitters. Spend some time away from the baby, either with your spouse or partner, or with friends. Also try to get some badly needed rest. Get backup care well before you feel you’re reaching a breaking point. If no one is available, take your child to your doctor or an urgent care center and ask for temporary help. Single parents can find support and information at local chapters of Parents Without Partners. To locate a chapter near you, call (800) 637-7974.

Express your feelings. It’s normal for parents in this situation to feel helpless, depressed or angry. Seek out a good listener and talk about your feelings. If you don’t feel comfortable discussing your baby’s colic with your friends, you might find it easier to talk to a doctor, nurse, social worker or parent support group.

Try to stay positive. Remember, colic will end; usually by your baby’s third to fifth month. For now, don’t measure your success as a parent by how much your baby cries. The fact that you’re trying to figure out what might help means you’re a good parent. So does having someone else watch the baby occasionally so that you can rest.

Try not to think of your baby’s crying as a cry for help. Sometimes infants cry from tiredness or frustration.

Complementary and alternative medicine
Alternative therapies for colic haven’t been proved to be consistently helpful. Herbal teas, especially chamomile and peppermint tea, chiropractic treatments, acupuncture, massage therapy and vibrating cribs all need more study, although some parents report good luck with one or more of these approaches.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an advisory warning against the use of star anise tea, which has traditionally been used as a treatment for colic. After performing a chemical analysis of the ingredients in the tea, researchers determined that it contains low levels of a toxic compound called veranisatin. The tea may cause neurological symptoms such as seizures, jerky movements, vomiting and irritability.

Article provided by www.mayoclinic.com