Amelia Mariano blew a raspberry
on her four-month-old daughter Tina's tummy in a futile
attempt to stop her crying. Parents like Amelia have long
suspected that their colicky babies have tummy troubles.
A study, published in the October issue of the Archives
of Disease in Childhood, confirmed it. Colicky infants
� babies who cry excessively � suffer more gastroesophageal
reflux, disorganized sucking and feeding patterns, less
responsiveness and greater discomfort while feeding.
Nineteen colicky babies, who cried
for three or more hours per day, three or more days
of the week for at least three weeks, were recruited
from the Infant Behavior Cry and Sleep Clinic at the
Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island. Twenty-four
non-colicky babies were enrolled from the community
to serve as comparisons.
The infants' oral motor skills
and social interactions were observed during feeding.
Abdominal ultrasound tracked episodes of gastroesophageal
reflux. Mothers also recorded their own stress levels
over a three-day period.
The colicky babies had more disorganized
feeding patterns than the comparison group. They also
suffered more episodes of gastroesophageal reflux (3.1,
CI 95%) compared to the controls (2.1, CI 95%) and spent
twice as much time crying. Not surprisingly, their mothers
reported higher stress levels as well.
As colic has no significant lasting
effects, it's widely believed that there's no need to
intervene as long as the baby is growing normally. The
research team led by Cynthia Miller-Loncar, PhD, disagreed
with this attitude as their observations confirmed that
colic negatively affects the baby not to mention the
parent.
"Our findings highlight the need
to provide information and support for parents whose
infants present with clinically diagnosed levels of
colic and associated feeding problems," said the authors.
Although the study provided evidence
that feeding difficulties and colic co-occur, a causal
relationship has not yet been proven. Both excessive
crying and feeding difficulties could result from an
underlying culprit such as a behaviour regulation disorder.
The authors caution that these results may not be applicable
to the general population. Research in a larger population
is needed to confirm the results.
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