Colic in a newborn: what to do. Intestinal colic in a newborn

At the first tantrums in a newborn, it is generally accepted that colic is to blame. Young parents, especially if colic began late at night, do not know how to calm the baby. They immediately call an ambulance, but doctors do not always have time to arrive when the baby is hysterical. It often happens that the baby manages to calm down by then. In our article we will discuss colic in a newborn - what to do to avoid excess gas formation in the baby’s intestines?

At the first sign of colic in a baby, do not sound the alarm. You must understand that excess gas in a baby's intestines is a physical feature of all newborns.

You must help your baby cope with this temporary illness, which completely disappears closer to 6 months. But in some children, colic stops occurring as early as 4 months.
To prevent colic, you should pay attention to:

Microflora of your own intestines.
Presence of candidiasis during pregnancy. It must be cured, because thrush causes intestinal dysfunction in a newborn.
Colic is often observed in those children who have had placental insufficiency or its premature aging.
Colic often occurs in those children who had umbilical cord entanglement or hypoxia during childbirth.
The child must be attached to mother's breast immediately after birth. If this is not done, the newborn’s intestines become colonized with microorganisms that can disrupt its microflora.

Symptoms of colic in a newborn

How can you tell if your baby has colic? Look out for the following signs:

Restless behavior - the baby begins to toss and turn, be capricious, and unexpectedly wakes up.
A sudden change in behavior - a child can play and have fun, and a minute later burst into tears. He twists his legs and tucks them in, waves his clenched fists, arches his back. At the same time, the baby’s face turns red from tension.
Prolonged crying. It is almost impossible to calm a baby during colic. Your attempts to attach the baby to the chest will be rejected by him, motion sickness will also not help.
Bloating. The baby's belly becomes swollen and hard, and the bubbling of gases can be easily felt if you touch the tummy.
Relief occurs after the passage of gas, bowel movements or regurgitation.

These are the main signs of colic. If you observe such symptoms for several days, then it is time to begin measures to eliminate them or alleviate the condition.

What to do for colic in a newborn

What should you do to help your baby relieve unpleasant symptoms? Typically, colic occurs up to 4 times a week, and they can occur at any time of the day. Follow our recommendations, and then your child will be less capricious with colic.

Always keep a warm diaper on hand, as warmth can reduce pain in your newborn. It is also necessary to purchase dill water at the pharmacy, which can be used for preventive and therapeutic purposes.

When feeding, pay attention to the position in which you feed the baby. Sometimes the baby may become capricious due to incorrect posture. Therefore, choose a position that suits both the baby and you.

Take your baby for walks outside more often. Fresh air calms the baby, allowing him to fall asleep faster and forget about pain.

During an attack of colic, try to hold your baby in your arms so that his tummy is in contact with your body. Mother's warmth will not only calm the baby, but will also make colic go away.

Some babies don't have colic until they are 3 months old, and then suddenly they appear. The reason for this may be poor nutrition of the mother. In this case, we recommend reviewing your diet and eliminating foods that increase gas formation.

During appointments with children's doctor do not hesitate to ask him questions regarding the baby’s gastrointestinal tract. After all, only a doctor will advise you what medications can be used to save yourself from colic, and how to behave during an exacerbation of this condition.

Make notes indicating the time of onset of colic. This way, you can notice the frequency of their occurrence so that you can be prepared for the next attack of pain.
Avoid fried and dairy products. Give preference to boiled and steamed foods.

Give your baby fennel tea during colic attacks. You can use it for preventive purposes.

Always keep a gas outlet tube on hand, which is sold in every pharmacy. To use it, press your baby's legs to his tummy, then soak the end of the tube in oil or baby cream, then insert a couple of centimeters into the baby’s anus. Wait until all the gases come out, then carefully remove the tube and rinse it in warm water with soap.

Prevention

It is advisable to breastfeed your baby only, as breast milk is an ideal source of nutrition for a newborn baby. The formula is difficult for a child to choose, so if you want your baby to artificial feeding, then be prepared for the fact that for some time you will have to select a formula for your baby that would not cause colic and constipation.
Watch your diet. Do not eat foods that can cause increased gas formation. Avoid soda, sweets and flour products. Be prepared to stick with it for a while special diet for nursing mothers.
Place your baby on his tummy more often; this will not only get rid of excess gas, but will also strengthen the anterior abdominal wall of the intestine.
Do a daily tummy massage in a clockwise direction.
Give your baby regular baby water or dill water. Dill water - effective remedy in the fight against colic.

All parents dream of their children being happy and healthy. Therefore, adults should remember that colic is a temporary phenomenon that occurs on its own and disappears unnoticed. Don't panic about physiological characteristics your baby, be prepared for sleepless nights that you won’t even remember in the future.

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New parents are often concerned about the reasons for their baby's crying. One of them is colic in a newborn, so it is important to know the symptoms and effective treatments. This problem is faced by most mothers and fathers who are frightened by their screaming babies. Colic can appear in babies who are fed breast milk and in those children who are bottle-fed.

What is colic in a newborn

According to statistics, 80% of children suffer from this disease. Infant colic is associated with the appearance of intestinal gases, which cause pain. Until they leave the body, the child cries and is capricious. Colic occurs in completely healthy children and often does not affect loss of appetite or weight gain. However, they cause a lot of discomfort for both children and their parents.

Symptoms

Colic is accompanied severe pain in the intestines, so the first sign of their appearance is considered to be capricious behavior and crying of the baby. When babies suffer from colic, some try to “bite” the hand, while others begin to wave their upper limbs and arch desperately. In this case, the following signs of colic in newborns may appear:

there is crying and anxiety after feeding;
a piercing cry for several hours, often in the late afternoon, although the child seemed healthy during the day;
the baby presses its legs to its stomach, which indicates discomfort in the intestinal tract;
pallor may appear;
After passing gas or going to the toilet, he feels better.

Causes

Pediatricians cannot reliably determine why gases occur in infants. However, there are a number of theories:

When feeding, the child does not grasp the nipple correctly, and when eating baby food The wrong cone for the mixture is used. As a result, a mixture of food and air enters the baby's digestive tract.
When feeding, the child did not regurgitate excess air from the stomach, which went into the baby's body.
The baby spends a lot of time lying down. This slows down the process of digestion of milk and artificial formulas.
There is immaturity at birth digestive system, in which colic begins at 2 weeks of age and ends by 3-4 months.
Using unsuitable infant formula.
The child cries a lot, and when sobbing, he takes in air, the passage of which is reflected in pain.

newborn crying

Foods that cause colic

Due to the incorrect diet of a nursing mother, gases can also form. To eliminate colic, you should exclude the following foods from your diet:

dishes with added spicy seasonings;
cow's milk and fermented milk products;
cabbage;
peas, lentils and other legumes;
apples, grapes, raisins, bananas, tomatoes;
products containing caffeine;
yeast dough.

When does colic go away?

No matter how worried parents are about their baby’s crying and would like to save him from the problem, it is worth accepting the fact that it cannot be avoided. This is a harmless and inevitable symptom that goes away on its own over time. Intestinal colic in newborns they begin from the third week of life. They finally pass by the time the baby reaches three months of age..

Why are they dangerous?

When colic continues for several weeks, it can lead to other intestinal disorders: diarrhea, regurgitation, vomiting. If even with treatment by special means the symptoms do not go away, which means they may be caused by another disease. If there is a prolonged period of recurring colic in newborns, you should consult a doctor. Another reason to go to the doctor is gas flow, which lasts a significant amount of time - more than 4 hours.

What to do with colic

Several treatment methods can relieve symptoms and relieve pain. Effective way How to help a baby with colic, tummy massage is recognized. To do this, before feeding, place the baby on hard surface. Lightly stroke your tummy in a clockwise direction. Massage should be performed daily, then there will be a good effect.

Can help calm a child medicines And traditional methods treatment. To remove gases, you can use a special tube or an enema. The end of the device must be inserted into the anus lubricated with Vaseline no more than 2 centimeters. After using an enema or gas tube, you need to be prepared for the child's possible bowel movement.

How to calm a child

With infant gas, time and patience will help. It is worth understanding that it is painful, but not fatal, you just need to wait out the attacks of pain. It is important for a child to know that his parents are nearby. Close contact with the mother can help calm the baby; for this, you can lay the baby on his stomach. If the symptoms become constant over several days, then medications can help relieve them.

Medicines

When colic appears in a baby, it is very important to treat it with the help of the special medications prescribed by the pediatrician. You can't do it without qualified help. The drugs are divided into several groups, each of which has a different mechanism for treating intestinal gas. In the presence of prolonged painful spasms, it is recommended to take Nurofena.

Simethicone medications are aimed at combating gas, they destroy the membrane of the vesicles and help eliminate colic. One of these means is Espumisan. This is an emulsion that is not absorbed by the intestines, but acts inside it on gases, the elimination of which leads to a reduction in bloating and pain. 25-30 drops should be given to little girls and boys to help relieve gas.

Bobotik reduces pain symptoms due to the active substance – simethicone, which is not absorbed in the intestines. Acting internally, it comes out unchanged with feces, without being absorbed into the bloodstream. If a child suffers from colic, then give 8 drops of medicine. Infacol helps reduce intestinal spasms by combining gases and promoting their natural release. Newborns are prescribed 0.5 ml of the drug. The advantage of simethicone-based products (Espumizan, Bobotik, Infacol) is that they are not absorbed into the blood and have a systemic effect.

Newborns do not yet have their own intestinal microflora. They receive beneficial bacteria through breastfeeding. To speed up the colonization of intestinal microflora, you can use probiotics. These drugs are prescribed by the doctor as a specific course of treatment, which must be completed with a specified dosage and duration. These drugs include: Acipol, Linex for children, Bifidumbacterin Forte, Bifiform Baby.

When colic bothers you, you can use herbal preparations. They help eliminate attacks of intestinal spasms. One of them - Plantex. This product is based on dry extract and fennel oil and lactose. One sachet of medicine is dissolved in liquid and given to the baby. The advantage is that it is of plant origin, but the disadvantage is that it cannot be used if you are allergic to lactose.

Warm diaper for colic

Traditional methods are good because they are completely environmentally friendly and safe for the child; they are easy to try at home, without having any special means at hand. good auxiliary When colic begins in a baby, a warm compress is applied. To do this, you need to heat the sheet with an iron. Next, warm swaddling of the baby’s belly is done. Mom can treat bloating this way: put a sheet on her torso, and on top warm fabric place the child.

Folk remedies

These methods are good because they are based on natural ingredients . Effective folk remedy recognized dill water- This is a tincture of fennel seeds. To do this, pour 250 g of dry extract with a glass of boiling water for 40-45 minutes, then filter and cool. The warm tincture is given to the child to drink after feeding. Another equally effective remedy is the use of nutmeg. It must be grated. The resulting gruel is used to lubricate the nipple before feeding. A medicinal bath with chamomile decoction also helps.

How to prevent

In order not to fight the problem, you can try to prevent it. Methods to help avoid colic in babies:

Mom should avoid foods that increase gas formation.
Choose correct posture for feeding. The child should be at a slight angle, not horizontally.
After feeding, hold the baby in a horizontal position, allowing the food to descend into the esophagus.
When feeding artificial mixtures pick up suitable posture, because the wrong choice can cause gas formation.

Video

Intestinal colic in newborns occurs 2-4 weeks after birth. This normal phenomenon and there is no need to worry. Parents need to understand that this goes away by 3-4 months, when the stomach gets stronger and develops. While the colic lasts, the baby needs to be helped to fight the pain, calm down and get rid of the pain as much as possible. Mommy at natural feeding You should eat right so as not to cause unnecessary anxiety and suffering for the baby.

Symptoms of colic in newborns

the child begins to get nervous, capricious, and worried. She draws her legs in and cries sharply - these are the first signs that the pain is strong and gripping. Symptoms of colic appear in the late afternoon, sometimes at night after feeding. Even if the child was healthy all day, ate and slept;
Colic can be recognized if the baby farts frequently;
Symptoms such as slimy green feces or stool may indicate a food intolerance.

What to do if your baby is suffering from colic

Bloating, spasms and colic that occur in a newborn can be alleviated at home, without the help of specialists:

For a few minutes before feeding, the baby should be laid on his tummy on a hard, flat surface.
After eating, the child must be lifted vertically into his arms, stroked on the back, waiting until the air leaves and he burps.
A light tummy massage will ease the condition and help calm the baby.
The mother can hold the baby close to her stomach.
Use a warm diaper or heating pad.
Give him tea with fennel (you are allowed to drink this tea from the first month of life).
Give the newborn dill water.
If colic appears in a newborn artificial baby, the mother should consult a doctor and switch the baby to another formula.
Fight gases with a gas outlet tube.

Elimination of foods and diet

A nursing mother should follow a diet, excluding from her menu such products as:

cabbage;
spicy seasonings;
corn;
whole cow's milk;
onion garlic;
tomatoes;
raw bell pepper;
radish;
legumes;
roasted sunflower seeds;
nuts;
cocoa, coffee;
chocolate.

If intestinal colic is associated with the consumption of these products, then after eliminating them, the pain and anxiety in the newborn will go away in one or two days.

Must read: What foods are allowed for a nursing mother?

Use of drugs

Before starting medication treatment, you must visit your doctor and take only what he has prescribed. You can’t listen to the neighbor who lit candles for her baby and they helped a lot. Each organism is individual and the doctor will prescribe exactly those drugs that are best suited for a particular small patient.

Doctors conditionally share everything pharmaceutical drugs from colic to preventive (homeopathy) and relief.

Preventive medications will not save you from pain and do not guarantee that tummy problems will not arise. They will ease attacks intestinal colic, will reduce the formation of gases, make the pain less severe and lasting. These include extracts and extracts of dill, anise, and fennel.

Cupping agents are based on simethicone. This Chemical substance relieves the tone of the intestinal walls, breaks down gases into small bubbles. Treatment is used when colic begins.

Common preventive medications:

Plantex in bags. Based on fennel. Granulated. Easily soluble in warm liquid. One package requires 100 ml. water. Newborn babies are soldered 1-2 pieces, in 3 doses between applications.
Dill water. Sold in finished form. Babies who have reached two weeks of age are allowed to drink 3-6 spoons per day. Dill tea bags are available for sale. It is brewed as usual and infused.
If a mother wants to brew dill water for her baby at home, she can take a spoonful of dry fennel seeds, grind them, pour boiling water, leave and strain. A teaspoon of infusion is added to expressed breast milk and 15 drops are dripped into the baby’s mouth. For homemade take fennel essential oil. 0.05 g is enough per liter of water. The solution can stand in the refrigerator (not in the door) tightly closed with a lid for a month. Before taking it, warm it to room temperature in a steam bath.
If parents have a bed of herbs under the house, mom can make tea from fresh dill. Chopped greens are poured into 100 ml. boiling water and leave for an hour. It can be offered to your baby as pharmaceutical dill water.
Baby Calm. The drug is from an Israeli manufacturer. A mixture of anise, dill, mint essential oil. It is diluted in water and dripped 10 drops into the baby’s mouth before feeding. Store the prepared emulsion in the refrigerator on the far shelf.

Popular relief drugs:

Espumisan El. Contains simethicone. Treatment of children is allowed from the first days. The sweetish emulsion, 25 drops, is added to expressed milk, infant formula, or given to the baby using a syringe, pipette, or measuring cup before and after feeding, as well as when colic attacks occur. The duration of taking Espumisan is not limited. Side effects it does not cause and is absolutely harmless.
Suspension Sub Simplex. Based on simethicone. Infants are given 15 drops after feeding. If the baby is bottle-fed, the drug is dripped into the mixture.
Bobotonic. Drops with simethicone are given to newborns who have reached four weeks of age, 8 drops after meals. It does not penetrate into the blood, does not affect the microflora of the stomach and is excreted through the intestines. Reduces bloating, relieves colic and relieves pain in a newborn.

All drugs based on simethicone include flavoring additives. Babies often do not refuse to accept them and do not spit them out. But if your baby has an allergy, you should stop taking these medications.
Sometimes doctors prescribe probiotics containing bacteria. But the reason why colic and bloating appear is not dysbiosis, but the immaturity of the digestive system.

Most doctors believe , that the baby’s microflora should form naturally without outside interference .

Medical devices

You can get rid of accumulated gases in your baby gas outlet pipe. To treat newborns, buy the smallest one within 15-16 cm. Before using this method, parents should consult a doctor. For the first time, he himself will show how to use the device correctly, so that due to inexperience they do not injure the child.

After purchase, the gas outlet is boiled. They wash their hands. An oilcloth and a diaper are laid on the table where the procedure will be carried out. The tip of the tube is lubricated with fat (oil, cream, Vaseline). Children up to six months old are laid on their backs and their legs are pressed to their stomach. Older babies are placed on their sides and their legs are pressed tightly. Using rotational movements, the tube is inserted shallowly into the anus. The other end of the tube is lowered into a vessel with water. It can be used to track whether gases have escaped or not.

Massage and gymnastics

An effective method that quickly relieves colic in newborns. Before feeding, massage is done for 5-7 minutes as a preventive measure against possible colic. Heat the diaper with an iron and lay it on the baby’s stomach for a few minutes. Then, with stroking movements, they move from the ribs to the edge. Pay attention to the area of the right hypochondrium. They don't touch it because the liver is located there.

It is important to stroke clockwise. Anatomical position of the intestine and corresponding movements mother's hands will help remove gases. After the procedure, they do gymnastics - the child’s legs are pressed to the stomach so that he farts.

Traditional methods of treatment

You can cope with pain and relieve colic simple methods. An ordinary heating pad, a warm diaper, which winter period can be kept on battery. The heating pad is not placed on the naked body, but on a T-shirt or T-shirt. Mom can pick up the baby and press it to her stomach. Heat relieves pain and relaxes muscles. Many people use not only a heating pad or a warm diaper, but also a warm bath.

Prevention of intestinal colic

Preventive methods for colic are simple. Pediatricians advise parents:

Do not overfeed the baby. Even 10 extra grams of milk in the stomach can cause bloating and gas formation.
Do not overheat. A newborn's thermoregulation is imperfect, and it is easy to overheat. The room should not be stuffy and dry. Frequent ventilation wet cleaning, giving up heaters will help improve metabolism and quickly get rid of tummy problems.
Correct attachment to the breast. A loose nipple and greedy sucking cause air to be swallowed.
Well-chosen nipple and bottle. In pharmacies you can find anti-colic bottles that prevent you from swallowing excess air when feeding. It is important to choose the optimal nipple shape and size. The hole should not be large, otherwise the baby will choke on food.
Suitable mixture. Some formula babies are not suitable for formula milk due to a reaction to cow protein. A change in diet also causes colic and digestive disorders in newborns. The transition to another mixture should be gradual.
Neonatologists advise placing the baby on its tummy from birth. The muscles of the neck and back will be strengthened, and gas and spasms will decrease.
Wear it with your stomach on your dad or mom’s bent elbow. The massage will be carried out unnoticed and without inconvenience.
Warm. The best heating pad for a newborn is considered to be the mother's palms. They are tedious to hold on the baby’s tummy in different positions. The touch of mother's hands will become the best medicine, eliminating many problems.
Diet. A nursing mother must understand that her diet is the key to the baby’s peace. If she herself has dysbiosis, diarrhea or constipation, then this will absolutely happen to him too.
Physical activity and proper care. Swimming in the bath, lying on your stomach, wearing a sling, music, games - all this helps relieve colic and relieve gas.

If colic does not go away in a newborn 4 one month old baby, consultation with a doctor is required.

Colic in infants is such a common phenomenon that all young parents dread the period when their newborns begin to cry and become upset. As a rule, the first symptoms of colic in infants begin 2-3 weeks after birth and last up to 3-4 months. Colic occurs in almost all children, regardless of health, conditions of birth and even nationality; for example, among the Chinese, the period of colic in newborns is called “one hundred days of crying,” which approximately characterizes the average duration of this unpleasant phenomenon. Why does colic occur and how does it manifest in infants, what to do with colic to help the child?

Features of the digestive system of infants

After birth, the baby’s digestive organs, like his whole body, begin to get acquainted with new living conditions. The circulatory system and muscle tissues adapt to the new force of gravity, the vestibular apparatus and perceptual system learn to recognize what position the child is in, the respiratory organs get used to the very process of breathing, because before birth, air did not enter the lungs of the fetus. And the digestive tract begins to get acquainted with food.

Despite the fact that nature provides the most optimal of all possible nutrition for a child - breast milk, the stomach and intestines need to get used to it. Movements, contractions internal organs, the balance in the production of digestive enzymes, even breathing patterns - all this affects the state of the food digestion process and causes colic in infants. How does this happen?
Colic refers to several manifestations of discomfort: spasms in the intestines, pain due to increased gas formation, difficulty with bowel movements. These normal, physiological phenomena occur in the body of every person, but babies are especially sensitive to them. What are the causes of colic?

Why do colics occur in the tummy?

Symptoms and signs of colic in a baby are varied, but they all indicate that something is happening in the small tummy that the baby does not like. Moreover, the average time of onset of colic coincides with the period when maternal hormones received during the period stop acting in the children’s bodies. intrauterine development and childbirth. They have a relaxing, relaxing effect, and their removal from the body, as a rule, coincides with the beginning of the “hundred days of crying.” Moreover, it is often accompanied by skin rashes, the so-called “three-week rash,” acne of hormonal origin, similar to teenage skin problems.
Colic can manifest itself as follows:

the baby is worried for no reason;
the legs are often bent at the knees and pulled up towards the stomach;
screams sharply and piercingly during feeding or cries in the evenings, although the rest of the time he is completely healthy and calm;
Possible difficulty passing stool;
increased gas formation and flatulence.

The nervous system of babies is imperfect: it is still learning to recognize which impulses are important and which signals from internal organs should not be responded to. The movement of food mass through the intestines can be perceived as discomfort and cause dissatisfaction in the child. This is the first reason for crying from colic.

The second reason, which is often associated with the mother’s diet, is increased gas formation. Many studies have proven that the formation of gases in a child’s intestines is not at all a consequence of non-compliance by the nursing mother. special diets. Everything that enters the mother’s stomach undergoes a process of splitting into basic elements, and in this form it does not matter at all whether the mother ate the permitted dried goods and boiled beef, or feasted on cabbage, sushi and buns. With an unbalanced diet, milk may contain more or less proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, but there will not be more or less cabbage. This is why bottle-fed babies also have colic. Although no “forbidden” products are included in the mixture.

So, maternal nutrition does not affect digestion healthy child. Why does colic occur?
The main reason for increased gas formation in babies is learning the breathing process. While eating, crying, or being overexcited, the child swallows air. If it further enters the intestines, then the swelling of the walls causes the same discomfort, which is expressed in sharp crying during feeding and in the evenings, when the child gets tired and the volume of air accumulates.

When does a mother's diet cause colic?

The diet of a nursing mother, as well as an incorrectly selected formula, can cause intestinal colic in newborns and infants if the child has allergic reactions to the components of the food/mixture, or food intolerance.
In such a situation, colic, as a rule, symptoms are not limited to. Signs include skin rashes, loose stool or frequent constipation, frequent regurgitation with an increased volume of secreted masses, up to vomiting, swelling of the larynx and difficulty breathing may occur.
What to do if colic in a newborn manifests itself this way? Go to the doctor to determine the cause of the allergy or food intolerance, and adjust your diet. Proteins are the most common allergens cow's milk, soybeans, wheat, chicken eggs and products of their processing. Excluding allergens from the diet of the mother or child (when formula feeding) helps improve the baby’s well-being.

What to do if your baby has colic?

Techniques for helping a baby can be divided into two groups: preventive, which help prevent the causes of flatulence, and “emergency”, which work if colic has already begun.
TO preventive measures include:

Checking the baby's nipple latch. Although nature intended it for babies, babies also need to learn this process. Proper latching on the breast protects babies from swallowing air during feeding. When artificial feeding, you must carefully choose the most suitable size and nipple shapes for the bottle;
carrying a child in a “column”, “soldier” manner - great way help air masses swallowed during feeding or crying to come out and not enter the intestines. Even if the baby does not have the habit of burping after eating, carrying it on your shoulder for a few minutes will not hurt, but rather will help avoid an evening session of mournful crying.

Both before the onset of colic and during the process, you can use the following simple methods of helping children:

familiar to everyone experienced parents exercise “bicycle”, in which the child’s legs are alternately bent at the knees and pressed against the tummy. This helps the food mass move evenly through the intestines;
tummy massage is a method that is gratefully accepted by infants (as well as mothers in postpartum period, since their digestive organs also need attention after the change in abdominal volume). With gentle pressure, slowly move clockwise around the umbilical fossa;
warmth on the stomach, a warm diaper, a warm soothing bath will help relieve spasms that occur due to overexcitation of the nervous system.

In some cases, a pediatrician may recommend carminative drugs (fennel teas, dill infusions) or simethicone drugs (Sab-Simplex, etc.). They reduce the amount of gases in the intestines and make it easier to get rid of them, but do not remove the cause of increased gas formation - swallowing air, and therefore do not contribute to teaching the baby to eat and breathe properly. And the period of colic may drag on.

Colic in newborns is headache and sleepless nights of fathers and mothers. Colic is a physiological condition small child, an adaptive reaction of the newborn to the environment. They begin around the 2nd week of the baby’s life, reach their peak intensity at 6–8 weeks and gradually disappear by 3–4 months. Occurs in 75% of babies, and 15–25% of them suffer from severe painful colic.

Colic appears at the same time, in the evening or at night, rarely in the morning, the child suddenly begins to scream shrilly, while he closes his eyes or, conversely, opens them wide, his face turns red, the child clenches his hands into fists, and may press his legs to his stomach .
Due to accumulated gases, the tummy may be round and bloated.
The attack lasts about 3 hours and occurs at least 3 times a week.
During colic, the child may refuse to eat and his sleep is disturbed.
In the morning and afternoon hours, the baby is alert, eats and sleeps well.
Attention! Frequent loose stools and vomiting are symptoms of an intestinal disease. Be sure to call a doctor.

Cause of colic in newborns

The main cause of colic lies in immaturity digestive tract newborn The intestines do not yet know how to move the contents well, as a result of which large gas bubbles accumulate, which burst the intestinal wall, causing severe pain in the baby.
Increased gas formation due to.
Lack of lactase enzyme, which is necessary to break down milk sugar.
Immature digestive enzyme system.
Colic can also be an allergic reaction to some product, most often sugar.
Many parents complain that their children experience colic even with the strictest diet of the mother; scientists have noticed that sometimes colic can be mental in nature. This means that colic is a baby’s response to the capriciousness and nervousness of its mother.

Interesting to know! In 2012, at the Congress of Neurologists of America, scientists from the University of California (San Francisco) presented the findings of a study in which they proved that colic is 2.5 times more common in children whose mothers suffer from migraines.

Should I continue breastfeeding if my baby has colic?

Colic is not a reason to stop breastfeeding. Mother's milk- the most suitable food for a child!

Dear mothers, I would like to note that colic is not a reason to stop breastfeeding. Maybe you will be able to choose a mixture that will really save you from the evening cries of the baby, but you must understand that colic is not a disease, it is a normal physiological condition, and no mixture can fully support immunity, resistance to disease, provide required quantity nutrients, vitamins and minerals. In addition, artificial babies also suffer from colic.

Why is colic dangerous?

If the child has early age had colic, this does not mean that at an older age he will be more prone to diseases gastrointestinal tract. This is a normal condition that the child safely outgrows and does not cause any harm to health.

What to do if your baby has colic?

From mom's side:

Mom's diet. In children who are on breastfeeding, as a rule, colic appears as a result poor nutrition mother. To understand what exactly causes colic in your baby, you need to follow the following diet:

Remove all foods from the diet, except: porridge in water with the addition of vegetable oil, herbal tea, boiled meat, fish, kefir (up to 0.6 liters per day) and plain yogurt without added sugar, berries, fruits. By eating this way for 2-3 days, you will notice that your baby will become calmer in the evenings.

On a note! Nursing mothers who drink at least 1/2 liter of kefir per day have babies much less likely to suffer from colic.

From the 3rd day we begin to introduce one new product per day. It is better to try cottage cheese or cheese first, as they are extremely necessary for the body of a nursing mother. Don’t be surprised if these products are not suitable for your baby: it has already been proven that they can cause excessive gas formation in the intestines. We try in small quantities (10–20 g) and only in the morning, i.e. before 11 o’clock: if this new product causes colic in the baby, then by 22:00–23:00 it will have passed and the family can sleep peacefully all night. If the baby develops colic in the evening due to the introduced product, then we remove it from our diet for a month.

On the 4th day, if everything was fine in the evening of the third day, you can try the same product to be sure. Or you can try something new. And so you continue until you have introduced into your diet all the foods that you ate before giving birth.

Carefully! You should not introduce several products in one day, otherwise you will not understand which of them did not suit the child. And reassure yourself that in 4 months you will be able to eat any food.

No cigarettes.
There are no hysterics or worries on the part of the mother; the child feels and reflects the mother’s mood. Both hormones of joy and hormones of stress and anxiety are transmitted with milk. Therefore, kisses on the cheeks, forehead and head! Feel sorry for him at this moment and give him more love and affection. The baby should feel the warmth and care of the person he loves.

The list of products presented below is based on a survey of breastfeeding women; these products can cause severe colic in the smallest quantities:

Apple. Even a thin slice, which is why some mothers started eating a baked apple only from the 2nd month of the child’s life.
Vegetables and fruits in fresh. Mom should introduce vegetables into her diet in boiled, stewed or baked form.
Dried apricots. One little thing is enough and the child will scream for several hours.
Cow's milk. Some mothers can easily afford a glass of milk a day, but there are times when milk should be completely eliminated for 3 months.
Grapes, raisins, grape juice. Causes excessive gas formation.
Cabbage, legumes, it is also better not to eat them in the first months for the same reason.
Black and white bread, yeast dough. Buy bread instead; for variety, you can alternate different grains; buckwheat bread is good for nursing mothers; you can eat dry Maria cracker cookies.
Fatty foods, sometimes the child is sensitive to even a bite butter, which mom adds to porridge.
Sugar and everything containing it. You should not eat condensed milk either.
Products containing , i.e. black and green tea, coffee. In the first months after the maternity hospital, it is better to drink linden, thyme, black currant leaves, mint and lemon balm. They are safe for the baby and will increase milk volume.

From the child's side:

Massaging the tummy clockwise will ease the condition of a newborn suffering from colic.

First step

If the child is completely on artificial nutrition, then you need to change the mixture and, perhaps, more than one, you can try a mixture with the addition of bacteria; usually more expensive mixtures do not cause colic.
Apply heat to the tummy area. This could be a dry diaper or a warm shower. Heat is known to relieve spasms. Fold a regular diaper in several layers and place it on the tummy; if it gets cold, warm the second one with an iron - and so on until the baby feels better. Usually, after taking a warm shower, children calm down and fall asleep soundly.
Massage the tummy clockwise. Do warm hand at least 10–15 minutes. You can make it with natural vegetable oil. You can purchase specialized oil at a pharmacy or children's store.
Exercise for legs. The child is lying on his back, take his legs, bend them at the knees and press them in turn towards the tummy, then both legs at the same time, this exercise will help the accumulated gases to move away, perhaps after it the child will poop, which will also bring him relief.
Tummy pose. Place the baby on his tummy inner part the forearms of your hand, place the baby with his bare tummy on your bare stomach.
Music. Sometimes it distracts the baby well, turn it up loud, take the baby in your arms and dance to the rhythm of his favorite song.

Second step

Go to it if all of the above does not bring results.

A decoction of chamomile, dill seeds (dill water), fennel. They are produced by such manufacturers as Bebivita, Hipp, etc., and can be purchased at the pharmacy. The decoction can be given both for the onset of colic and for the purpose of preventing it in the afternoon after each feeding in a volume equal to 1/2–1 tsp.

Recipe for dill water:

1 tsp. dill seeds or fennel fruits are poured with one glass of boiling water, left for 30 minutes, after which the broth is filtered. A fresh decoction should be prepared every day. Give approximately 3 tsp per day.

Probiotics. These drugs are approved from birth. They populate the baby’s intestines with normal flora and create favorable conditions for its growth, suppress the growth of bacteria that cause the fermentation process. The most popular drugs are Lacidofil-WM, Liveo, you can also try Lactobacterin, Bifidumbacterin. It is necessary to take a course of this drug for 3-4 weeks.
Plantex and Bebinos. Plantex is an excellent carminative and antispasmodic, it reduces the frequency of colic attacks and reduces their pain intensity. The drug is herbal, based on fennel, safe for babies, and can be administered to children from the 15th day of life. It has a pleasant taste, and children usually drink it with pleasure. So many positive feedback about him from mothers' side. Bebinos is a complex preparation based on fennel with the addition of chamomile and coriander. A very effective remedy in eliminating painful flatulence and cramps.
Espumisan, Babotic, Sub Simplex, Baby Calm. For very severe colic, the usual physical exercise able to stop a baby's scream for a short time, and parents have to resort to the help of these drugs. They are based on simethicone, a substance that breaks up large gas bubbles in the intestines and relieves pain from colic within the next half hour after ingestion. These drugs are not absorbed from the intestines and are absolutely safe for use in children. Allowed from the 20th–30th day of a child’s life. Read the instructions carefully before use.
For very severe and prolonged colic, American doctors consider it acceptable to give the child paracetamol. However, in order not to harm the baby’s stomach and liver, I recommend using paracetamol suppositories and no more than 2 times a week.
Gas outlet pipe. I believe that they should be used extremely rarely and in special cases, since any foreign body may negatively affect the natural process of formation of the baby’s digestive tract.

Under the age of 6 months, a child does not know how to be capricious or do something out of spite; if he screams, this is a request for help! Approach your baby with understanding, give him more affection and love, follow the tips listed above, communicate on the forums of young parents (after all, only parents are able to find the most unpredictable methods of treating their baby, which doctors could not guess), and your family will have peace and love reign.

The program “Dr. Komarovsky’s School” will tell you about the causes of colic and how to get rid of them: