YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH CARE/COLIC: RECENT RESEARCH
Recent research confirms what some authors have been saying for many years. They claim that continued use of the term ‘colic’ to denote a specific pathological condition is probably incorrect. Repeated studies suggest that infant crying and fussing is part of normal development and that it gets better with time irrespective of any treatment. It most likely represents a transient phase in the maturation of the baby’s nervous system; he moves away from crying as a reflection of his underlying physiological state (hunger, irritation, overstimulated, tiredness) towards crying as a means of communicating with his care-givers.
In the younger baby, there seems to be a biological component to the crying, which is linked to his temperament, sleeping cycles, and feeding patterns (‘expressive crying’). Later, the crying and fussing is more likely to be responsive to the environment, and to reflect maternal responses (‘communicative crying’).
Maternal anxiety and stress do not cause crying and fussing, but can exacerbate them. It is perfectly natural for mothers (and fathers) to become concerned about a baby’s crying. Most adapt and are able to cope with it, knowing it is a phase that the baby is going through and that it will pass. Other parents perceive the baby’s crying as somehow a reflection on their own competence as parents (‘If I was a good mother, my baby wouldn’t cry like this’). It is very important for parents to understand that the crying seen so commonly in infancy has very little to do with their competence as parents. The most ‘together’, calm and competent mothers will also have babies who cry all the time.
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Tags: General health