The infant colic are characterized by difficult-to-calm, even inconsolable, crying or crying episodes that occur in healthy babies 4 months and younger.

These crying attacks most often occur at the end of the day or in the evening, without a clear medical cause being able to be identified. Crying starts and stops for no apparent reason.

In fact, “colic” does not meet a very precise medical definition, since we do not know the exact causes. Doctors generally consider it to be colic, or excessive crying, when the infant is well, grows normally, but cries:

• more than three hours a day,
• more than three times a week,
• for more than three weeks¹.

This definition corresponds to Wessel’s “rule of 3”.

However, since the medical definition of colic is not very precise and since crying does not necessarily last three hours a day, parents, often worried, tend to consult a pediatrician quickly in order to make a diagnosis.

Who is affected?

It is estimated that around 25-40% of infants under 4 months of age suffer from colic, whether they are breastfed or bottle-fed.

Colic usually starts around 3 weeks of age, and becomes more severe around 8^st  week and fade naturally around the age of 3 months^2-3 .

Excessive infant crying is, along with sleep problems, the number one cause for medical consultation in babies under 3 months of age.

Causes of the disease

Despite many years of research devoted to excessive crying in infants, the causes of colic are not known. No organic cause (disease, lesion, etc.) is to be noted and infants with colic grow and develop well.

It should be noted that there is no clear consensus as to whether this intense crying is abnormal or if it is the normal expression, more or less intense, of the development of the infant.

The theories on the cause of colic are many and varied. The biological and psychological immaturity of the baby is often put forward⁴.

Traditionally, these crises are attributed in turn:

• Immaturity of the digestive system causing gastrointestinal pain and gas,
• In the anguish of the evening,
• If you need to be reassured,
• To an excess of sensory stimulation,
• If you need to relieve the tensions of the day,
• To the anxiety of the mother.

Several recent studies point to the potential role of intolerance or allergy to bovine proteins, which would irritate the child’s digestive system or modify its flora². It is true that during colic attacks babies seem to have a stomach ache, gas and relief when carried lying on their stomach, resting on the forearm. of the parent.

Bovine protein is present in powdered infant formula, but also in breast milk when the mother consumes dairy products or beef.

Course and possible complications

Infant colic is mild and transient. They fade naturally around the age of 3 or 4 months and at most at the age of 6 months, without any specific treatment.

However, do not hesitate to ask for help because they can be a major source of stress within families or even parental distress. In extreme cases, they can seriously disrupt the parent-child relationship and lead to depression in the mother, or even to acts of abuse.⁵.