Managing crying: Tips to calm baby and mum

Colic is the term used to describe infants who cry excessively for no apparent reason during the first three months of life. It is one of the most distressing problems of infancy to the child and the parents.

The temporary problem resolves by three months of age in 60 per cent and by nine months in 90 per cent of babies.

All babies cry a lot during the first three months of life than at any other time. There is no standard definition for "excessive" crying — the average duration of crying during varies from 42 minutes to two hours per day. Babies without colic cry less frequently and for a shorter duration than those with colic.

Most infants with colic do not have an underlying medical condition that causes them to cry excessively. Colic probably results from different factors, including gastrointestinal, biologic and psychosocial.

Excess heat

There are a number of reasons other than colic that may cause an infant to cry excessively. This include hunger, pain caused by illness or physical injury, Fatigue or over stimulation, food sensitivities (either in the child’s or the mother’s diet for the breast feeding infant, wetness or excess heat.

The diagnosis of colic is often made after it has run its typical three- to four-month course. Parents who are concerned about their infant’s crying should visit a healthcare provider to discuss their concerns and possible management strategies.

It is important that parents monitor the characteristics of their infant’s crying.

It may be helpful to keep a written record of the information and share it with a healthcare provider to help determine the cause of an infant’s crying as well as the best ways to manage it.

The information will include: When does crying occur and how long does it last? Does the crying begin at the same time every day? Does the infant cry at other times of the day? What seems to trigger an episode of crying? What helps to stop crying? What do you do when the baby cries? What does the cry sound like? How and what do you feed the baby?

Baby massage

Colic affects the whole family and treatment is determined by an infant’s symptoms and the family’s response. The goals of colic management are to decrease crying, help the family cope, and prevent long-term difficulties in the family’s relationships.

No single management strategy has proven to be successful for all babies, thus healthcare providers recommend trying several strategies at once.

These include changing the dietary and feeding technique, baby massage, and change in environmental stimuli, homeopathic and herbal remedies and taking a break from the crying infant. But these must be discussed with a healthcare provider first.