Causes of Colic

Healthcare providers are not certain what causes colic. There are several theories about why colic may or may not occur, including:

Adjusting to Each Other

One theory about colic relates to the adjustments that a new baby and their parents have to make to each other. Until babies learn to talk, one way they communicate with adults is by crying. Parents have to learn to interpret the reasons their baby is crying and then figure out what to do to make the baby happy. Is the baby hungry? Wet? Cold? Hot? Tired? Bored? A baby will cry for these reasons, as well as for other problems and parents must try to determine what is causing their baby's stress, often by trial and error. New parents, especially, may have trouble reading their baby's cues and responding appropriately.

Temperament and Adjusting to the World

Newborns must also make adjustments to the world they are living in. Not all babies have the same temperament. Some adjust to lights, loud noises and all the other stimulation around them with no trouble, while others are not able to adapt as easily. Just like adults, some babies are easy-going and some are impatient. Crying may be one way for a baby to vent feelings as they are is getting adjusted to the world.

Oversensitivity to Gas

Another possible theory for excessive crying in babies might be due to an oversensitivity to gas in the intestine. Healthcare providers do not think that babies with colic produce more gas than others, but simply that the normal amount of gas that is produced as food is digested is uncomfortable for some babies. If a baby with colic seems to pass more gas than other babies do, it is probably due to swallowing more air while crying for prolonged periods of time.

Colic is not caused by an allergy or intolerance to milk protein. The signs of milk protein allergy are different from those seen with colic. If you think your child has a milk allergy, call your healthcare provider.

Symptoms of Colic

A child who is otherwise well, who cries or is fussy several hours a day, especially from 6 pm to 10 pm, with no apparent reason, may have colic. Also, babies with colic may burp frequently or pass a significant amount of gas, but this is thought to be due to swallowing air while crying and is not a cause of colic.

The symptoms of colic may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your child's physician for a diagnosis.

Risk Factors for Colic

Colic may be related to a baby's temperament and personality, and those traits are known to be inherited. However, colic does not seem to run in families.

• Up to 30% of normal, healthy babies have colic
• Boys and girls are equally affected

Reasons for Concern About Colic

Colic may become a concern due to the following reasons:

• Frustrating and stressful to parents
• Parents and infant lose sleep
• Infant may be overfed in an attempt to stop the crying

Babies with colic grow and gain weight appropriately, despite being fussy or irritable, being gassy and losing sleep.

Diagnosis and Evaluation for Colic

A healthcare provider will examine your baby and obtain a medical history. Questions might be asked about how long and how often your child cries, if you have noticed anything that seems to trigger the crying and what comfort measures are effective, if any.

Blood tests and X-rays or other imaging tests are rarely needed to determine if there are other problems present.

When to Call Your Child's Doctor:

Before assuming your child has colic, you should look for other signs of illness. These may include:

• Not sucking or drinking a bottle well
• Drinking less milk than usual
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Becoming more irritable when held or touched
• Strange sounding cry
• Change in breathing rate or effort
• Being more sleepy or sluggish than usual

Call your child's doctor if you note any of these symptoms, or if your baby is crying excessively. Your child's doctor will examine your child to make sure other problems are not present that might be causing colic-like symptoms.

Coping with Colic

Learning how to interpret your baby's cry can be helpful in dealing with colic. It does take some time for parents and babies to become accustomed to each other. Remember, babies will cry for a certain length of time every day under normal circumstances.

Other suggestions include:

• Make sure your baby is not hungry, but do not force feed if they are is not interested in the bottle or breast.
• Change your baby's position. Sit them up if lying down. Let your baby face forward if you are carrying or holding them facing your chest. Babies like to see different views of the world.
• Give your baby interesting things to look at: different shapes, colors, textures and sizes. Talk to your baby. Sing softly to your baby.
• Rock your baby.
• Walk your baby.
• Place your baby in an infant swing on a slow setting.
• Go for a ride in the car. The motion of the car often soothes babies.
• Try using something in your child's room that makes a repetitive sound, like a wind-up alarm clock or heartbeat audio tape.
• Hold and cuddle your baby. Babies cannot be spoiled by too much attention. However, they can have problems later in life if they are ignored and their needs are not met as infants.
• Let an adult family member or friend (or a responsible babysitter) care for your baby from time to time so that you can take a break. Taking care of yourself and lowering your stress level may help your baby as well.

Long-Term Outlook for a Child with Colic

The symptoms of colic usually resolve by the time a baby is about 4 months of age.

Consult your child's doctor for more information.