Facts about infant colic

Infant colic (also known as baby colic, three-month colic, infantile colic and colic)

Infant colic is defined as excessive crying for more than three hours a day at least three days a week for one week ore more in an otherwise healthy baby. It is most frequently observed in neonates and infants aged two weeks to four months. Infant colic is diagnosed in as many as 26% of infants, making the condition one of the most common reasons for visits to paediatricians and family practitioners. Colic usually disappears when the child has reached the age of three months. Therefore, the condition is sometimes called three-month colic. Colic is equally common in breast-fed children as in children who receive infant formula.

Cause 

• The child's intestines are over-active and cause, through their powerful movements, cramps and pains in the intestines
• Intestinal air produces pressure which causes stomach ache. This may be due to the child eating too fast and thereby swallowing air
• There is a relationship between the child's colic and the mother drinking cow's milk and products containing cow’s milk. The cow's milk is transferred to the baby through breastfeeding.

Symptoms

• The child cries violently, sometimes for several hours at a time. The crying occurs at the same time every day, usually during the evening and at night. The baby is crying for no apparent reason
• The child has stomach ache, and often flex his or her legs towards the stomach, as in convulsion
• When the child has pain it wants to suck and eat, even if it has just eaten. Maybe because it misinterprets the pain for hunger. This may lead to a negative circle as the stomach pain gets worse if the baby eats too much
• Colic starts during the first two to four weeks after birth and will often last until the baby is around three months old.

Treatment

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