When your newborn is screaming in distress for hours on end for what seems like no reason, it can be frustrating and frightening for parents and family as you search for answers for ease and relief for your tiny mite.

A newborn suffering from colic can disturb the family harmony and leave you feeling helpless, hopeless, angry, guilty, anxious, and filled with self-doubt.

Colic is a common condition affecting 1 in 5 babies in the first month of life, regardless of whether they’re breast or formula-fed. The most common causes of colic are parents misreading their infants’ cues, inadequate handling, and poor feeding techniques.  

Colic Versus Reflux:

Often confused with colic, reflux in babies can make an appearance around the same stage and display similar symptoms, however they have different responses.

Reflux is the movement of fluids, food, or acid from a baby’s stomach into their oesophagus or throat and may cause them to spit up. Reflux is caused by baby not latching and taking the feed properly, a predominantly fluid diet and lying flat too much of the time which results in restless feeding, crying, vomiting, and failure to thrive (not gaining weight or growth).

Frequent chest infections may occur as stomach contents enter the windpipe and lungs. Common in the first three months, reflux causes your baby to be niggly and fussy throughout the day with reflux usually stopping by 12 months.  

According to the Mayo  Clinic  the cause of colic is unknown. It may result from numerous contributing factors and varies in intensity among infants.

What the medical experts do know is that in almost all instances, colic resolves itself in its own time and your newborn should grow out of it and, most importantly, it is not harmful to your child.  

Colicky Cries: Colic is expressed by intense crying and painful screaming, which is a different sound to that of cries of hunger or a wet nappy. Babies will clench their fists, tense the abdominal muscles, and arch their back. Colicky babies usually cry in spells mostly occurring around the same time at night disrupting baby’s and your sleep patterns.  

Colicky Causes: Colic may be due to baby’s immature digestive system making it harder to digest food when they are still infants. Their developing digestive system may have an imbalance of healthy bacteria, or it could be due to a food or cow’s milk intolerance causing muscles to spasm, gas, and stomach pain.

This supports the rule that no baby under six months of age should be given solid foods (even watery rice milk) as their digestion system is not developed adequately to process anything else but breastmilk.  

A colicky baby may also have a sensitivity to light, noise and excess stimulation of fear, frustration, or excitement at a time their nervous system is still developing. It may also be a form of childhood migraine.

Often parents think their child is crying with hunger resulting in overfeeding and infrequent burping which worsens the symptoms. Colic may also be brought on by family stress and anxiety.

A colicky baby is often identified by the 333 rule; your baby cries for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week and for longer than three weeks in an infant who is well-fed and otherwise healthy. They may burp often or pass a lot of gas, but this may also be due to swallowing air while crying.