Probiotics Soothe Babies With Colic

 

 

Baby crying.....Colic does not harm babies, but can be distressing

Probiotic drops soothe some babies suffering from colic, studies show. Trials, involving nearly 2,000 babies, found it reduced crying. The Australian team who analyzed the findings told the JAMA Pediatrics journal probiotics may be worth a try, particularly for breastfed babies, but trials would continue.

There is no probiotic treatment parents can buy off the shelf in a pharmacy. And aside from burping the baby after a feed, there is little offered that is proven to help. Colic affects as many as one in five babies. It is thought to be related to taking in too much air while feeding. Babies grow out of it by about four to six months, but until then colic can be distressing for all involved.

 

Probiotics are a cocktail of live micro-organisms that, once consumed, are thought to offer certain health benefits. The 12 studies identified by Dr Valerie Sung, from the University of Melbourne, and colleagues investigated the effectiveness of probiotics given either to breastfeeding mothers or breast or bottle-fed babies.

Some of the studies looked at probiotics as a treatment of colic and others for preventing colic.

Dr Sung said: "Even though the use of a specific strain of probiotic (L reuteri) in breastfed term infants with colic is promising, there is still insufficient evidence to support the general use of probiotics in all infants with colic or to recommend its use in preventing colic."

Janet Fyle, of the Royal College of Midwives said: "Colic is not life-threatening or harmful to the baby, but it is distressing for them and their parents."

"We do not know what causes colic and not all crying is down to colic. Babies cry because they are cold or hungry or need changing or just need cuddling. All babies are different."

"Your midwife can suggest practical things that may help, such as sticking to a pattern of feeding and holding your baby and walking around to comfort it."

Rosemary Dodds of the National Childbirth Trust said: "There is currently no concrete cure for baby colic, but there are ways to soothe your baby that can help greatly.

"For babies who are breastfed, ensuring they are well positioned at the breast, and finish the milk in the first breast before moving to the second can help."

"Babies who are bottle-fed can be 'winded' after a feed to help them bring up any air they take in with the milk; an upright position and gentle pressure on the stomach or patting on the back is helpful."

 

Colic has always been around and has been distressing and keeping parents up at night since time immemorial. A cure would be so appreciated by all. ( So  many hours  of my life I have spent walking the floor with babies) But failing a cure, if this treatment helps to soothe the baby and allow the household to get some rest, I hope they make it available to the suffering public as soon as they may.