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Baby colic: what is colic signs, symptoms and treatment

Early Childhood Development

Baby colic: what is colic signs, symptoms and treatment

Colic is when a healthy baby cries for a very long time, for no obvious reason. It is a common uncontrollable distress in a healthy baby during the first 6 weeks of life and affects 10-40% of all babies worldwide. 

What is colic?
Colic usually starts a few weeks after birth and tends to peak around 6 weeks. Between months 3-4, it usually improves significantly. Your baby may have colic if they cry more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week for at least 1 week. 

Although colic isn’t a disease, it can be a huge burden to you and your partner. 

What are the signs of colic?

What causes colic?
Colic is a bit of a mystery, and we still have no sure answer about the cause. The following are things that may cause colic:

What to do?
Talk with your pediatrician about your baby’s crying. He can rule out other potential causes, like intestinal problems or urinary infections, and he can check whether your baby is growing normally.

Tips to cope with colic:

Long-term side effects: Whether colic causes physical or psychological long-term side effects on your baby remains unclear. Some research shows that untreated post-colicky infants demonstrated negative behavioral patterns at 2 to 3 years of age. Toddlers who were treated with chiropractic care for colic were twice as likely to not experience long-term sequelae of infant colic, such as temper tantrums.

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