Comforting Babies with Colic
Does your baby cry a lot? Maybe you’ve heard that it’s colic but what does that mean?
Colic is a little-understood problem that torments up to 25 percent of infants and their parents. In 1954, Dr. Morris Wessel, a pediatrician at Yale, came up with the “rule of three” that defined colic as crying for more than three hours a day at least three days a week for at least three weeks in a row.
Sometimes it seems that nothing can be done to stop the crying, and parents can be left feeling as helpless as their infants. The piercing cry of a baby with colic is a disturbing sound. In fact, researchers have studied a colicky baby’s cry and found it to be a more disturbing cry than that of a baby without colic. A study published in “Child Development” finds that colicky infants produced cries at sound frequencies of more than 2100 Hz, a nearly 25 percent higher frequency than non-colicky babies.
The sound of an inconsolable baby is challenging for parents to endure. According to an article in “New Yorker” magazine, “The sound of a crying baby is just about the most disturbing, demanding, shattering noise we can hear.”
Is it Colic or is it Reflux?
It seems there are trends in diagnosis. A generation ago, babies who cried frequently were labeled as having colic.
Today, doctors diagnose many colicky babies with reflux. Yet what many parents don’t know is there is often a correlation between colic, reflux and food intolerance.
The Colic Cure
Baby Matters author Linda Palmer says, “with true diligence efforts to find and avoid any irritating foods colic symptoms can be cured at a 90 percent success rate.” Pediatric medical professionals such as Bob Sears, M.D., recommend first removing the most common allergens: dairy, eggs and nuts from formulas and the mother’s diet (if breastfeeding). If a baby is formula fed, a switch to a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic formula is recommended because 60 percent of babies with dairy allergies will also be sensitive to soy. However, even hypoallergenic formulas often contain corn, which is a common allergen.
Breastfeeding or finding donated allergy-free breast milk is usually the best option. Labels must be read with care, and all foods containing casein, whey, butter or cream, cheese, and even “non-dairy” items that are lactose-free yet still full of milk protein, must be avoided by mothers nursing infants with colic and reflux. Be aware that results are not immediate and that it can take up to two weeks for an elimination diet to work. Pediatrician Suzanne Mills says that clinical trials indicate that (non-dairy) probiotics relieve reflux symptoms and can be added to mom’s diet and to baby’s bottles of expressed breast milk to decrease symptoms.
Alternative Treatments
Beyond dietary changes, there are other alternatives that seem to ease colic. A product developed by Nanette Meneses, a San Diego mom who had a colicky daughter, is gaining a growing audience of support. Happi Tummi consists of a waistband and herbal pouch that is heated to release healing properties that are said to provide almost immediate relief of most common stomach ailments. www.happitummi.com
Hold Me Tender
Parenting style also impacts a baby’s colic. Regular close contact, sometimes called attachment style parenting, will comfort a baby and reduce crying. Linda Palmer a local attachment parenting expert shares that, “Babies are designed to be next to their parents most of the time, both day and night.” She recommends co-sleeping at night and carrying a baby in a sling by day. Bouncing a baby while sitting on an exercise ball mimics the up and down motion babies feel in the womb and can sooth even the fussiest of babies. This type of sensory input is demonstrated by pediatrician Harvey Karp in his video “The Happiest Baby on the Block.”
The Cost of Colic
New trends in the treatment of colic and reflux include looking at the whole family system. At the colic clinic at Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, doctors have found that it’s critical to examine not only how chronic crying affects the baby but how it impacts the parent-child relationship.
Parents can be filled with self-doubt and guilt about their basic abilities to nurture and provide comfort for the baby. It can be especially difficult for parents to stop themselves from wondering if they are doing something wrong when they have friends or family that brag about other “easy” babies.
Research indicates that parents of difficult to soothe babies are at risk for depression. Feeling overwhelmed from caring for a fussy baby coupled with plaguing self-consciousness about taking a crying baby out in public results in parents of colicky babies becoming isolated. Unfortunately, without the right resources parents can tend to withdraw at the very times when they need the most support. Because babies are wired to pick up on their primary caretakers’ feelings, your stress becomes their stress and stress makes symptoms worse. If you have a high-needs baby, it’s essential that you get the support you need, and remember to keep breathing!
Carrie Grange Isaacson, LCSW, is the mother of two formerly colicky and reflux babies and the founder of Baby Maven, a practice specializing in helping parents. www.babymaven.org
For more articles select the "NEXT" button below.
