Colic is one of the most common conditions experienced by babies under four months of age.
And while it is considered benign and self-resolving, it can have a significant impact on the family.
Dr Valerie Sung, a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and research fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, says physiological and psychosocial factors are thought to behind the condition.
In a journal she recently posted, Dr Sung discusses management and myths concerning colic.
“Colic is one of the most common presentations to primary health care in a baby’s first months of life. It has adverse associations including maternal depression, child abuse and early cessation of breastfeeding,” Dr Sung says.
How to manage colic:
The first step for managing colic is to exclude organic causes of crying by careful history and examination.
Infants who have significant feeding difficulties and frequent vomiting, especially those who are struggling to gain weight, have a strong family history of allergy, and those with increasing irritability beyond three months should be considered for a limited trial of a hypoallergenic diet.
Hypoallergenic formula or dietary elimination should only be continued if symptoms resolve and then reappear after a re-challenge with cow’s milk protein.
Strategies to soothe the infant should be explored, with recommendations to reduce environmental stimuli.
Understand the nature of colic:
Families can often be reassured by understanding the self-resolving nature of colic, offering at least one review and more where necessary, putting in place strategies to increase emotional and social supports, and acknowledging that it may be difficult, if not impossible, to ‘teach’ their infant to ‘self-soothe’ during the first few months of life.
Myths surrounding colic:
The myths surrounding colic should be explored, and the lack of evidence for any one effective intervention should be explained.
All families should be offered strategies to manage their infant’s feeding, settling and sleep, together with a recommendation to reduce environmental stimuli.
Although evidence for these strategies is limited, they are not harmful or expensive.
To read Dr Sung’s full report click here
