Crying baby
Excessive crying in babies is common and can be distressing. Often there is no obvious reason why a newborn is crying inconsolably and it gets better after babies are three to four months old. This condition is often referred to as newborn colic.
All babies cry, but inconsolable or excessive newborn crying can be distressing and difficult to manage for caregivers.
The crying usually starts when babies are a few days or weeks old. It tends to peak around six to eight weeks of age and resolves without treatment.
Babies may look like they are in pain, but colic crying isn’t caused by discomfort. It can be difficult or even impossible to settle or comfort a baby showing symptoms of colic.
One in five families experiences excessive crying with their baby. This is associated with problems such as parental depression, family dysfunction, child abuse and early breast weaning.
You can find more information on Colic on the Raising Children website.
Who does it affect?
Who does it affect?
- Excessive crying is one of the most common conditions experienced by babies under four months of age.
- It is also one of the most common reasons for primary healthcare visits in a baby’s first months of life.
- One in five babies in Australia experiences excessive crying.
- Most crying babies and unsettled newborns have no obvious physical or medical reason for their fussing.
Impacts of our research
Impacts of our research
- We led a colic research study involving 11 international institutions which found that the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri can potentially reduce crying in exclusively breastfed babies less than three months old who have infant colic. Breastfed-only babies given the probiotic drops were two times more likely to reduce crying by 50 per cent by the 21st day of treatment than babies who did not have the drops. Previously there was no effective treatment.
- Earlier our Baby Biotics Study, the world’s biggest trial of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri, found the drops were ineffective for formula and breastfed infants with colic. But later combining these Australian results with three other global trials in the international study, showed the probiotic was effective for colicky babies who were exclusively breastfed.
- We found that colicky babies whose crying eases within three months appear to have no ongoing behavioural or other problems.
- In an Australian-first study on Behavioral Outcomes of Infant Colic in Toddlerhood, done in collaboration with RMIT, we found babies’ gut microbiota may predict problem crying and subsequent child behaviour.
- Our research gives parents a treatment option and reassures them that there appears to be no long-term harm from excessive crying in infants.
Our vision
Our vision
We aim to help and alleviate the stress parents and caregivers experience when their baby has excessive or inconsolable crying. We are doing this through research that reveals potential treatments and reassures parents and caregivers that excessive crying does not cause long-term harm.
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