Baby colic is a condition in which a baby cries or screams a lot and for a long time, but there doesn't seem to be any reason for it. The condition usually shows up in the first few months of a baby's life and almost always goes away as quickly as it came. This usually happens when the baby is getting close to eight months old. Colic is more common in babies who are fed from a bottle, but it can also happen to babies who are breastfed. Most of the time, the crying happens at the same time of day, which is often in the early evening.
Since no one knows for sure what causes infant colic and the amount of crying varies from baby to baby, there is no one definition of what infant colic is. But parents should remember that it's just a condition that will go away on its own and not a disorder that may need treatment right away. The only way to know if a baby has colic is to rule out all other causes of crying. The general rule is that a baby has colic if it cries hard more than three times a week, for more than three hours each time, and for more than three weeks each month.
Even though no one knows what causes infant colic right now, doctors have made some observations about why it might happen to babies. When they are born, babies may still have a digestive system that isn't fully grown and hasn't even started to break down food.
The digestive system is literally just beginning to figure out what it does. It's possible that the muscles that move food through the digestive tract haven't found the right rhythm yet. This could cause babies to have frequent and painful stomach upsets. It could also explain why there is a condition called "infant colic" and why almost all babies grow out of it by the time they are six or seven months old.
The mother may also be to blame for the baby's colic. There may be chemicals and allergens in some of the foods that breastfeeding moms eat that can cause colic and stomach problems in their babies.
Trace amounts of cruciferous vegetables and other foods that cause gas can be passed to the baby through the mother's breast milk, causing the baby to have gas and bloating. Babies often swallow air when they are feeding or crying, which could make their gas and bloating worse and cause them more pain.
There isn't a treatment for infant colic that most doctors agree on right now. Doctors and nurses may try different things to try to treat the condition. Many doctors think that infant colic can't be treated right now, so it's best to just let it go away on its own. The best thing moms can do is try to make the baby feel better. During times when the baby is crying, soothing actions like giving the baby a pacifier or gently rocking the baby can help.
Some parents take turns holding the baby upright, which seems to help the baby feel less pain and cry less. Some homoeopathic treatments can also be very helpful for treating the symptoms of infant colic. Homeopathic treatment is thought to be safe and has no known side effects or allergens. It will be up to the parent to think about such an alternative if they find that it helps a lot with the colic.
