Infant colic: expert advice to relieve it

They worry us, these famous colic, which make the tiny baby squirm and cry a lot! True pathology, digestive immaturity or need to be carried a lot… whatever the cause, we want to be able to soothe and relieve it! Knowing that most of the time, everything is fine after three months.

A problem with excessive baby crying

Discuss the problem of infant colic with a pediatrician, he will inevitably talk to you about the excessive crying of some babies, and will look into the child’s relationship with his mom or dad. Why ? Because all of this is intimately linked. A lot of parents consult because they are worried about their infant’s colic, who squirms and cries a lot. ” It concerns between 10 and 40% of patients, which is huge », Considers the pediatrician Gwenaëlle d’Acremont. ” More in 80% of cases, these are babies who simply want their arms from their mom! », Analyzes the pediatrician Catherine Salinier. ” The solution is therefore to take them, cuddle them, keep them close to you, close to you … And too bad for the ironing … who will wait! »Or we delegate to the other parent or a loved one.

Carrying a baby in your arms: a remedy that is sometimes sufficient

A baby doesn’t cry, it cries. This does not mean that he is sad, or that he hurts somewhere, negative and disturbing notions contained in the idea of ​​“crying”. Or even that he is necessarily hungry. It means he’s calling. “ At one month, a baby has no other means of expressing himself than by screaming. And in 90% of the cases, it just means “Mom, give me a hug!” ». Arms and hugs: If there is one remedy that can be given to all the little babies in the world without restriction, this is it. “ The famous attachment, supposed to give you confidence for all the life, at the beginning, when the baby is just born, it is not psychic, it is physical », Insists Dr Salinier. ” Moreover, maternity leave, when you think about it, is not so much for the mother, who in some cases, if she is doing very well, could almost return to work the next day. It is made for the infant, so that it is with its mother, becomes attached to her and vice versa. »

Laure-Anne’s testimony: hot water bottle and arms to calm baby

« Leon is squirming all the time and his stomach is very hard. Suddenly, I have him in my arms all day. He has colic but also reflux, and the pediatrician suspects an allergy to cow’s milk proteins. He is under anti-reflux treatment, with hypo-allergenic and anti-regurgitation milk. The fact of put a hot water bottle on his stomach, after the meal, relieves him well. And we started theosteopathy. »

Laure-Anne, 32 years old, mother of Léon, 1 month old, and Olivia, 22 months old.

Pathological colic: definition and solutions

Clearly, explains pediatrician Catherine Salinier, “about 10% of infants suffer from true pathological colic. That is, about 30 minutes after drinking his milk, the baby has a stomach ache and writhes in pain, because he has a problem digesting lactose. »Linked to the immaturity of the infant’s digestive tract, this problem will go away spontaneously after 3 months.

What to do against infant colic and how to relieve baby?

« In the specific case of true pathological colic, continues Dr Salinier, the solution is, if the baby is bottle-fed, to prescribe milk with less lactose to suppress pain; and if he is within and that the mother has a very abundant lactation, possibly not to give the first very sweet milk, but rather that of end of feeding. You can find tricks, for example by expressing the first milk very rich in lactose. “ It may be interesting togo see a lactation consultant, who can give precious advice to the mother », Adds Dr Salinier.

If the baby cries more than 3 hours a day, it is necessary to consult!

« On average, at six weeks of life, a baby cries 1 hour 48 minutes a day in total, which is quite normal », Explains Dr d’Acremont. ” But when a baby cries more than 3 hours a day, three days a week, for three weeks, it’s excessive and so trying for parents: you have to go and see what’s going on », Adds pediatrician Catherine Salinier. Indeed, ” baby cries, that can be analyzed medically: if it is before or after the meal, if it is day or night … », Continues Dr Salinier. “ The pediatrician will check that this is not a clinical, organic cause », Adds Dr d’Acremont. Like a “real” gastroesophageal reflux disease, which burns the baby’s esophagus and needs to be treated.

Help parents and make them feel guilty

Parents who are distraught over their babies’ crying need to talk about it, agree to express their feelings and ask for help. “ The role of the pediatrician is very important to reassure parents », Continues the pediatrician. “ I have seen parents arrive with their shoulders fully tucked in, because they are so stressed, and leave the consultation much more peaceful, liberated, their babies feeling a little better. Little by little, they taket a little more distance from crying, and the baby, who is in fusion with the emotion of the mother, feels that this emotion becomes less strong, less violent, and he will have less stomach ache! »

Advice from our pediatrician experts, to soothe infant colic

Four tips from Dr Salinier, pediatrician, to calm colic

• The first thing is to take your time when feeding your baby. A bottle doesn’t have to be “down” in 10 minutes, it takes a good 20 minutes. In fact, breastfeeds often last a long time.

• After the meal, it is good to keep the baby in the arms a little upright, instead of putting him down right away in his bed.
• We need to heat the bottles. Breast milk is 37 ° C, so that sounds like a good temperature!
• Finally, we do not rush to an anti-colic milk on the shelves of the pharmacy: a milk is a medical prescription from the pediatrician.

Anti-colic advice from Dr Gwenaëlle d’Acremont, pediatrician

• Go see the pediatrician for reassurance from the parents.

• Carrying the baby a lot: in the arms, on the forearm while “flying”, or in the “Little Buddha” position against us, or trying on the baby sling.
• Make sure to leave his place for the father, favor skin to skin.
• Sometimes, when the crying doesn’t stop, take the child for a walk outside.
• Try herbal medicine, with Calmosine for example. Or, if you are breastfeeding, Julep Gommeux, a preparation prescribed by the pediatrician based on lime water and gum arabic. Some pediatricians will prescribe probiotics.