How To Cure Colic In Newborn

What Are Causes Of Colic

The proposed causes of colic tend to focus on the immaturity of the child’s intestinal tract and/or nervous system. Colic is an equal opportunity tormentor. Symptoms show no predilection with respect to racial, ethnic, socioeconomic group, or gender. While much research has been focused on the topic, no consistent explanation as to cause has yet been defined. Rather, most specialists hypothesize the cause to be multifactorial — a combination of genetic predisposition, neurodevelopmental immaturity, and possibly influenced by behavioral and social/cultural aspects.

How To Cure Colic In Babies:

how to cure colic in babies | How to get rid of colic in a newborn? Colic and crying need not be a satisfactory condition for your children, but it is the way in which they express their needs and communicate with the people around them. Without realizing it, you respond most of the time to what your child needs by:

• Catering.
• Helping your baby to sleep.
• Diaper change.
• Cuddling only.

Where Can I Get Help

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome offers a program, the Period of PURPLE Crying, to help parents and other caregivers understand crying and how to handle it.

All Babies Cry is a program that helps people learn how to soothe a baby and cope with crying.

The program’s four parts are:

If you are worried you might hurt your baby or someone else will, call the national hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD anytime for help.

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Hold The Baby Correctly

Holding your baby is one of the most effective ways to stop the constant crying. The more hours they spend being comfortably held, the lesser time they will spend crying in the evening.

If gastroesophageal reflux disease is the reason why your baby is colicky, try holding him upright after feeding sessions.

Making your baby lie on his/her back or making him/her recline in a car seat right after feeding can worsen the symptoms, causing the baby to be fussy.

Also, do not forget to burp the baby after every feeding session. Not burping the baby or incorrect positioning after feeding is one of the causes of colic in babies. Burping helps release gas and prevent the formation of air pockets in the stomach, which can cause a lot of discomforts.

Holding Them Upright After Feeding Them

Holding your baby upright on your shoulder after feeding them helps them burp. This helps in relieving gas and also prevents air pockets from forming in the stomach. The best way of doing this is:

• After you feed the baby, lay it against your shoulder.
• Support your babys neck and shoulders carefully.
• Gently rub or pat on its back till you hear a burp sound.
• Do this after each feeding.

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What If It’s Not Colic

Babies cry for other reasons that are not colic. The first step is to make sure a baby doesn’t have a health reason to be crying.

• has a fever of 100.4°F or higher
• is less alert or active than usual
• isn’t feeding well
• isn’t sucking strongly when taking the bottle or breast
• has loose stools or blood in the stool
• is throwing up
• is losing weight or not gaining weight
• can’t calm down no matter what you do

Natural Remedies For Quick Relief From Colic

A warm bath and compress works as a best natural remedy for colicky babies and offers respite from gas. Warm water has the tendency to relief pain, soak a towel in warm water, squeeze it and gently rub the baby tummy with it.

Massaging the babies with essential oils like almond and coconut oils can calm the babies and also stimulate digestion. Take the oil on your palm and give a gentle massage in a clockwise direction. Also Read: Baby Massage: Why and How You Should Do It

Place the baby on their tummy, across the stomach or lap, as a change in position may sometimes help to soothe colicky babies. Besides this, slightly rub babys back which helps in releasing the gas and at the same time may be comforting. Moreover, science says that tummy time assists in building stronger neck and shoulder muscles. Always do this while the babies are awake and under proper guidance.

Remember to always burp the baby, soon after every feed, this aids in relieving the flatulence and averts the formation of air pockets or gastric bubble in the tummy. After each feed put your baby on your shoulder, supporting the neck and shoulders, mildly pat or rub the baby until you hear a burp.

Seek immediate medical care if the baby:

• Has frequent episodes of diarrhoea, especially with blood in it.
• Doesnt feed or gain weight
• Has a high fever and vomiting
• Feel very sick and fatigue
• Less attentive or very sleepy than usual

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Infantile Colic: Recognition And Treatment

JEREMY D. JOHNSON, MD, MPH KATHERINE COCKER, DO and ELISABETH CHANG, MD, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

Am Fam Physician. 2015 Oct 1 92:577-582.

Patient information: A handout on this topic is available at .

• References

Infantile colic is a benign, self-limited process in which a healthy infant has paroxysms of inconsolable crying. The standard diagnostic criteriaknown as the rule of threeis crying more than three hours per day, more than three days per week, for longer than three weeks.1 Symptoms typically resolve by three to six months of age.

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Parents should be educated about the benign and self-limited nature of infantile colic.

A = consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence B = inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence C = consensus, disease-oriented evidence, usual practice, expert opinion, or case series. For information about the SORT evidence rating system, go to .

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

How Do I Know If It’s Colic Or Normal Crying

Colic is a special pattern of crying. Babies with colic are healthy, and eating and growing well but cry in spells. The spells happen at the same time of day. Most often, the crying starts in the early evening.

During a colic spell, a baby:

• has high-pitched crying or screaming
• is very hard to soothe
• can have a red face or pale skin around the mouth
• may pull in the legs, stiffen the arms, arch the back, or clench fists

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Seeing Your Baby’s Health Care Provider

Your baby’s health care provider can often diagnose colic by asking you about the baby’s medical history, symptoms, and how long the crying lasts. The provider will perform a physical exam and may do some tests to check your baby.

The provider needs to make sure your baby does not have other medical problems, such as reflux, a hernia, or intussusception.

Living With Colicky Baby

Having a colicky baby can be very stressful for parents. It can make you feel tired, guilty, and even depressed. Your baby’s healthcare provider can suggest some things to do that may help to calm your baby. Its important to know that colic is a common condition in young babies. It will go away on its own, often by age 3 months. In most cases it is gone by age 6 months.

If possible, have someone else watch your baby when you become stressed. If no one else is available, make sure your baby is safe and go into another room. Distract yourself from your baby’s cries. Crying will not hurt your baby. Some communities have free or low-cost care called respite nurseries. You can leave your baby there for short periods of time.

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Take Care Of Yourself Too

It can be stressful when your baby cries for no obvious reason and isnt easily soothed. Your baby needs you to be calm, too, and that can be hard if you are tired.

If you find yourself getting tense or angry as your baby cries, try breathing deeply to help yourself relax. If thats not enough, lay your baby down in a safe place and go into another room for 10 or 15 minutes. Lie down, listen to calming music, do a household chore or take other steps to calm yourself. When you feel ready, go back and pick up your baby.

Ask friends or family members to relieve you at times so you can go for a walk outside, take a nap or have some time to yourself. Its not selfish to take care of yourself. Restoring your ability to be calm can be the best thing you can do for your baby.

The Classic Knee Pushing Exercise

This simple exercise can help relieve gas in the baby, resulting in relieving the distress and calming your baby. The best way to perform this exercise is:

• Lay your baby on its back.
• Hold your babys knees together and gently push the legs back towards the tummy.
• Hold the legs in that position for a few seconds.
• You can do this exercise even while massaging the baby.
• Do not persist if the baby offers a lot of resistance.

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Provide Them With A Soother/pacifier

The sucking instinct of babies is greater than any other creature on this earth. So, it is suggested that for relieving your baby from colic, provide them with a pacifier.

Due to their high sucking instinct, a pacifier will help them stay relaxed. Also, it should not go without mentioning that sucking a pacifier releases endorphins- the chemical produced by the body for relieving stress and pain. Try this effective way, and we are sure that it will work perfectly for your baby.

Check In With A Lactation Consultant

If youre a breastfeeding mom, this is so essential. There are so many anatomical issues that could be causing your baby grief! Unfortunately, most pediatricians arent trained to spot these conditions, so be sure you find an IBCLC-certified lactation consultant. Your baby could have a bad latch. She could be tongue-tied. He could be lip-tied. All of these issues could cause some major colic symptoms!

You also want to be sure baby is getting enough hindmilk, which is higher in fat, calms the stomach, helps with digestion, and promotes satiety. If your babys poop is greenish, frothy or mucuosy, this is usually a sign that hes getting too much foremilk, which can cause digestive distress. This often happens when a breastfeeding mom has an overactive letdown or is having oversupply issues, which is very common in the first few months after giving birth.

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How Can You Soothe A Baby With Colic

As you get to know your baby, you learn to check for the obvious causes of distress when they cry. Are they hungry? Are they hot or cold? Does their diaper need changing? Are they over-stimulated? A baby with colic might be crying for one of those reasons. Or they may be crying for a reason you cant understand.

Once youve checked on their possible physical needs and sources of discomfort, its time to go into comforting mode, using whatever technique helps to calm your baby. Every baby is different, and what works for one may not work for another.

With that in mind, here are some ways to soothe a baby with colic:

• Hold and cuddle your baby.
• Walk with your baby.
• Swaddle your baby in a soft blanket.
• Sing and talk softly to your baby.
• Sway back and forth while you hold your baby, or find other ways to gently rock her. Some babies are calmed by a swing.
• Gently rub your babys back.
• Change your babys position: Sit them up if they have been lying down, or hold them face-out if they have been facing your chest.
• Hold your baby near low, rhythmic noises, like the sound of the washing machine or a recording of a heartbeat. The steady hum of a fan or a white noise machine can also be soothing.
• Go for a ride in the car. The motion and noise of a car ride helps to calm some babies.
• Give your baby a pacifier. Many babies are calmed by sucking, and a pacifier can satisfy this need between feedings.

How To Help A Crying Baby

• Respond quickly if your baby is crying. This may mean that they will cry less later on.
• Crying babies tend to arch their backs and stiffen their legs. Holding them curled in a C position helps to calm them down.
• Check that your baby is not too hot or cold or uncomfortable in some way.
• Wrapping or swaddling in a cotton sheet can be calming.
• Many babies soothe themselves by sucking, so a dummy can be helpful, once your breast milk supply is going well.
• Patting can help soothe a baby.
• Soft lighting can also help some babies who may be distressed by harsh lights.
• Baby slings are great to provide comfort and contact if the baby needs to be held.
• Deep baths and gentle massage relax some babies, but they often dont help if your baby is already crying.
• Soft music or noise that has a beat or rhythm, such as a loud clock, may help.
• You may be trying too hard to calm the baby . Put your baby down somewhere safe for a while and see if they settle.
• Take the baby for a walk in a pram or a sling or for a ride in the car. You might find yourself going out for many rides in the car for a couple of weeks, but this will not last forever and many babies seem to find it helps them calm down. Dont drive if you are too stressed to drive safely.

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Remedies For Treating Colic: How To Treat Colic In Babies

If your baby is also suffering from colic, there are two options that you can choose. First, have patience and let the colic go away itself. Second, you can go through the below-given tips and tricks to protect your baby from colic. We are sure that youll choose the latter option. Wont you? How to relieve colic in babies has no particular option, but we assure that these methods will help a lot.