Generally, babies cry due to hunger, thirst, cold, hot, and discomfort. Because the baby can not process words and communicate with the mother, usually he will cry to 'talk' with his parents. However, if the tears of the child never stop in a long time, the mother must be suspicious of this condition. It could be that children experience colic. For this reason, parents must know how to deal with colic in infants, because it takes extra patience when calming children who experience colic.

Causes of Colic in Babies

College is vulnerable to the age of the child about 6-8 weeks and stops by itself between the 8th week to the 14th week. However, sometimes it can occur at the age of 3 to 4 months after birth. The condition of the baby affected by colic is that the baby will cry for at least 3 hours without stopping every day, and occurs more than 3 days in 1 week. Of course, the mother will be frustrated because the child does not stop crying.

Colic is a condition when the baby cries continuously without a clear cause. This condition is not a disease and will not endanger the baby. It is estimated that colic in infants is caused by experiencing discomfort in the stomach. In infants aged 0-2 months, digesting food is difficult. This condition is caused by too much gas in the digestive tract, hunger, or too full may also cause colic.

Colics can also occur if the baby is in an uncomfortable environment for him, such as a room that is too cold or hot. In addition, babies born prematurely, or the nervous system that has not been well developed, is also thought to be more at risk of experiencing colic. Doctors usually only suggest that the baby is calmed or made comfortable when experiencing colic.



Characteristics of Colic Babies

Digestive disorders in infants occur because they are still adjusting, the inability to calm down, and allergic to milk. The characteristics of the baby with colic, namely:

1. Crying intensely and predicted

When a baby experiences colic, often will cry for more than 3 hours a day, usually in the afternoon to midnight, without clear reason and cannot be packed. Babies who have colic will usually spill often.

2. Facing red

Usually when crying, a colic baby starts with a whimpering sound and then continues to cry until it is heard, like shouting until his face often flushed. Not infrequently, after crying the baby coughed like thirst and throat dry due to crying endlessly in more than 3 hours. If the baby is not experiencing colic, the blush of his face will return to normal.

3. Changes in posture

Besides crying endlessly for more than 3 hours, the characteristics of another colic baby are changes in posture. Typically, the baby's feet are lifted up towards the abdomen, tightening abdominal muscles and both hands lifted in a clenching position.

Although these conditions make the mother as a mother -worry parent, in fact the mother does not need to worry if the baby experiences colic. This condition is not dangerous and is not a disease. In addition, sometimes crying similar to colic crying, but accompanied by other signs that worry about need to be aware of and examined by a doctor. Here are the signs:

  • The infant is older than four months.
  • The sound of the baby's tears
  • When lifted, the baby's body droops
  • The baby's weight does not increase
  • Urinating patterns and bowel movements are not normal
  • Babies have no appetite
  • Some parts of the baby's skin look pale or blue
  • The baby's crown is prominent
  • The baby looks difficult to breathe

How to deal with colic in babies



Crying is normal in infants because it is a form of communication with the mother and the people around him. If the baby cries, it's a sign that you need something like hungry, discomfort, or changing a full diaper. Crying continuously and without a clear cause is a sign that the baby has colic.

How to deal with colic in infants actually does not need treatment from the doctor because it will disappear the age of the child. However, there are several ways to deal with colic in infants that Mother and Father can do to relieve tears, namely:

  • Massage the baby's stomach gently
  • Carrying as long as he cries
  • Take a battle with warm water
  • Carrying in a cloth or blanket
  • Give a pacifier if it is necessary to help calm the baby
  • Give humming or soft sound like "sshh sshh ..." to babies
  • Place it on a bouncer or a special shake chair for babies.

In addition to the above method, the way to deal with colic in babies that mothers can do is to ask for safe probiotics for children when consulting a doctor. In order to treat colic, probiotics are substances that support the natural balance of "good" bacteria in the digestive tract. Colics in infants can cause an imbalance of bacteria. One of them, Lactobacillus Reuteri which significantly reduces the symptoms of colic conditions.

If the mother is still actively breastfeeding, the pediatrician will usually advise the mother to avoid foods that are likely to cause allergies such as cheese or yogurt, beans, wheat, soybeans and fish for two weeks to see changes in the symptoms of the baby.

Mothers can also do some colic treatment in infants by trying different types of bottles or pacifiers is a way to help relieve the symptoms. Bottles that have folded sacs can reduce the amount of air swallowed by the baby.

Don't forget to breastfeed the baby before the baby is hungry and crying, because when the baby is hungry and cry will make a lot of air enter through his mouth. This can increase the risk of colic. Therefore, to prevent colic in infants, the mother needs to breastfeed the baby when she is not hungry.

Colics can be relieved by massage you know, ma'am! Here's how to massage for colic babies:

  1. Gently press one hand to the baby's stomach. Meanwhile, another hand gently stroked the baby's stomach.
  2. Bend the baby's knees towards his stomach and turn slowly clockwise.
  3. Lay the baby in the stomach position on the mother's thigh. Then, roll right and left.
Right nutrition for colic babies

For babies who consume breast milk, colic can be overcome by regulating mother's diet, such as reducing foods that contain lots of lactose such as cabbage vegetables and cauliflower, as well as seafood, especially animals, such as shellfish and crabs, and avoid caffeinated drinks and spicy foods. Whereas in infants who do not consume breast milk, special formula milk that has been reduced levels of lactose content is highly recommended. In addition, choose special formula milk that contains fatty acids and is able to support the growth of good bacteria.