Intestinal colic in newborns occurs in almost everyone; about 80-90% of mothers face this problem. But there is no need to panic about this; this is almost always a physiological phenomenon.
There are many means and methods that can be used to alleviate the child’s condition and reduce the frequency and duration of colic in infants.
Intestinal colic is a painful spasm of the muscles of the large intestine due to irritation or stretching of the intestinal wall by gases.
Causes of intestinal colic in newborns
Physiological colic occurs due to immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract in newborns. Neuromuscular regulation is still very poor. Enzyme systems are also still immature. All 9 months before the baby was born, his gastrointestinal tract did not work, the ingested water did not need to be digested in any way, and no enzymes were required.
After birth, the baby begins to feed on breast milk, the need for digestion appears, and enzymes begin to be produced to digest breast milk. In the first weeks of life, the newborn eats very small portions, so there may not be colic at first.
By the end of the first month of life, his needs increase, milk consumption becomes greater, but the enzyme systems are still immature and will remain so throughout the first year of life. Only by 6 months will the child begin to develop new enzymes, but the formation of this system takes a very long time. As a result, gas formation increases.
Incorrect breastfeeding and short feedings can also lead to colic. Some mothers listen to the “advice” of grandmothers who say that you should not hold your baby at the breast for a long time. This is a huge mistake.
- Firstly, with a short feeding, the baby receives only foremilk; it is very rich in carbohydrates, which leads to gas formation.
- Secondly, the child does not receive hind milk, which is much more nutritious and contains the maximum amount of not only fats and proteins, but also immunoglobulins.
- Thirdly, contact with the mother at this age is very important for the child, especially during the period of colic, because it relieves pain, calms the child, and the warmth from the mother’s body reduces spasms and reduces colic.
During the period of colic in a newborn’s stomach, increased gas formation occurs, which causes him great discomfort and severe pain, so it is during this period that it is so important for him to feel contact with his mother, because otherwise the child feels defenseless, and the best way to feel protection and care from his mother is get breasts.
What signs are observed?
Intestinal colic in newborns occurs due to the accumulation of gases in the abdomen. The baby feels spasms that cause him anxiety and pain.
The question arises, what are the causes of colic in newborns? In fact, there is only one main reason - the immaturity of the baby’s digestive tract. The child's body adapts to life outside the womb; during this period, new bacteria colonize the intestines.
The main symptoms by which infant colic can be identified:
- the baby has a hard, swollen tummy, rumbling may be heard;
- while crying, the child pulls his knees to his tummy, curls his fingers and toes;
- when the baby cries angrily, his face turns red;
- the child may refuse to eat;
- baby's restless sleep.
Signs of colic in newborns may differ slightly - some children open their eyes wide when pain occurs, while others, on the contrary, close their eyes. In any case, by the appearance of the child, you can certainly determine that he is in pain.
An important point is that with colic, the baby’s stool remains regular and does not change dramatically. If the baby has loose and frequent stools and vomiting, then this indicates a more serious disease - dysbacteriosis. In this case, the child should be examined by a pediatrician and determine what kind of disease it is and how to treat it.
How does colic manifest in babies?
Colic in newborns has several symptoms, but the main one is crying.
There are many reasons for a newborn to cry, for example, hunger, a wet diaper, a teething (teeth can erupt at any age, there are cases of children being born with one tooth), fear, a desire to be with the mother, to play, and neurological diseases.
With colic, crying is characteristic; an attentive mother can distinguish whether the baby is crying from abdominal pain or from hunger. Crying with colic is sharp, loud, accompanied by pressing the legs towards the tummy.
The crying is constant, very loud, and begins abruptly, unexpectedly, sometimes soon after feeding; this type of crying indicates colic in a baby. When the pain passes, the child quickly calms down.
To the touch, the baby’s tummy is dense, swollen, gases can often pass in large quantities, after which the baby feels better and calms down.
Why does pain occur?
It is known that the main cause of stomach problems in children is the adaptation of their digestive system to new conditions. However, there are other reasons that depend on the nutritional characteristics of children.
Natural nutrition
In a newborn who is breastfeeding (BF), pain appears if the young mother does not eat properly. When feeding a baby, mothers will have to give up sweet pastries, coffee, hot sauces and seasonings. Due to the frequent consumption of such products, mothers worsen lactation, babies begin to accumulate gas, and a stabbing sensation appears in the tummy.
Artificial nutrition
Some parents feed their children formula milk, which causes them to have problems with the digestive system. To prevent the development of pain, you need to change your diet after the first symptoms appear. Nutrient mixtures do not have the same composition and differ from each other.
How can I help my baby?
Every mother wants to ease the suffering of her baby during the period of colic in newborns. What to do to make colic less and less frequent? Below are all the main measures that help reduce their manifestation, but the main thing that a mother should know is that there is no need to panic, but to be patient, since severe colic in a baby will go away on its own by about 3 months.
So, if a newborn has colic, what treatment is needed? There are several main points that will help you with this problem.
Proper breastfeeding
- Allow your baby to nurse for as long as he wants, even if it takes a few hours. At his age, this is not only normal, but also necessary.
- Make sure your baby latch onto the breast correctly so that no air gets into the mouth. Otherwise, the baby will swallow it, thereby air will enter the lower parts of the gastrointestinal tract and cause painful intestinal spasms.
- Do not supplement with formula. You can always improve lactation, you don’t have to think that the baby doesn’t have enough milk, in 99% of cases these fears are unfounded (see what to do, how to increase lactation if the baby doesn’t have enough breast milk).
- Introducing formula into a child’s diet will only worsen the situation, since he does not have the enzymes to digest the cow’s protein that they contain. Any new type of food is a huge burden for a child’s intestines. But you can’t create this burden unless necessary (see why you can’t give cow’s milk to a child under one year old).
After feeding, hold the baby upright for 5-10 minutes. As a rule, the baby swallows a little air when feeding, it needs to come out so as not to get into the intestines. To do this, they raise the child to a vertical position, following the simple laws of physics, the air comes out through the child’s mouth.
When feeding from a bottle, much more air is swallowed, since not a single nipple has the same anatomical shape as a woman’s breast. When sucking, air enters the area of the corners of the lips. Therefore, you should not spend extra money on “anti-colic” bottles. In principle, such bottles cannot exist.
Dry heat
Heat helps relieve spasms, as it improves local blood circulation and causes muscle relaxation. It is best to use a warm diaper. It can be heated on a radiator or with a hot iron. Apply to the baby's tummy (be careful not to burn the baby's delicate skin). To keep the warmth longer and make the baby calmer, place it and the diaper on you.
Place the baby on his tummy and do gymnastics
Place your baby on his stomach as often as possible. Just do not do this immediately after feeding, as there is a high risk of regurgitation in this case. This will not only train the muscles of the back, neck, and anterior abdominal wall, but will also enhance intestinal motility, which means it will improve the passage of gases.
Massage
Massage for colic in infants has a very beneficial effect. This should be done before each feeding. This should be a massage, not a light stroking. Pressing firmly, you need to make circular movements in the tummy area clockwise. These movements should be done for 2-3 minutes. Then you can bend the baby's legs at the knees and press them to the tummy, this will facilitate the passage of gases. Repeat all these manipulations 2-3 times.
Diet
Everything you eat goes into your blood and from there into your milk. If the child is breastfed, then it is important to exclude a number of foods from the diet for the first 3-4 months. This will not save you from colic at all, but it will significantly ease the situation.
There are several foods that cause colic in newborns. These include:
- milk and dairy products
- legumes (peas, beans, lentils)
- White cabbage
- apples, especially green ones
- grapes, raisins, bananas
- yeast dough
Also, you should not overindulge in sweets. Many young mothers make the mistake of believing that milk will improve lactation, when it has no effect on lactation. Moreover, it causes very severe colic in the child, up to the appearance of foamy stools, and can also provoke allergies in the baby.
Herbal teas based on fennel and anise. Both mother and child can drink it if it is children's herbal tea without sugar and its substitutes.
If all of the above methods do not help prevent colic in a newborn, what should you do? Medicine should be given. Below we will discuss in detail the types of medications used for colic. You need to give one thing, you should not give everything from the list of medications at once. And before this, you should definitely contact your pediatrician so that all other causes of the child’s anxiety are excluded and the most suitable drug for the baby is selected.
The scary truth about the origin of colic
Colic does not occur in all children, it begins around the 3rd week of birth, occurs about three times a week and usually goes away by the 3rd month of development. From the experience of some doctors, it has been noted that colic is more common in boys and lasts longer than in girls. However, the exact origin of infant colic is still unknown.
Doctors identify special factors that can contribute to the development of colic:
- functional immaturity of the neuromuscular system (muscle tone) and the intestinal enzymatic system (lack of lactase enzyme). As a result, the processes of fermentation and increased gas formation (flatulence) begin. Gases stretch the intestinal walls, causing pain;
- adaptation of the child’s body to a new way of eating, because in the womb the baby received food through the placenta;
- overfeeding a baby leads to the fact that due to a lack of enzymes, not all food is ready to be digested. It undergoes rotting with the release of gases that put pressure on the walls of the child’s intestines, causing attacks of pain;
- mother’s consumption of foods that cause flatulence (fresh vegetables, legumes, black bread, cabbage, grapes, carbonated drinks) or allergenic foods (milk, eggs, nuts, red fruits and berries);
- Keeping the baby in a horizontal position for a long time leads to difficulty in digestion.
Drug treatment
It is almost always necessary to prescribe medications for colic in infants. There are a very large number of them and they are all divided into several groups.
Simethicone preparationsThese drugs act on gas bubbles in the intestines. They allow them to merge, thereby facilitating the removal of gas naturally. Simethicone is not absorbed in the intestines. This group of drugs includes:
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ProbioticsNewborns do not have “good” bacteria in their intestines, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive system. Newborns receive most of them through mother's milk. But in order to speed up the colonization of the intestines with the necessary flora, on the recommendation of a doctor, you can give the child probiotics, but only in a certain course and dosage indicated by the doctor. These include:
For more details, see the list of probiotics - analogues of Linex. |
Preparations containing enzymesSince the baby’s enzyme systems are imperfect, medications with enzymes can relieve colic. These include Creon (used only as prescribed by a doctor). Lactazar is also used, this is a dietary supplement that helps break down lactose, it is used for lactase deficiency, it is a source of the lactase enzyme.
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Herbal preparationsFennel and Anise have an anti-colic effect, they accelerate peristalsis and allow gases to be removed from the intestines faster, thereby easing the child’s condition. Among them are:
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If you follow these simple rules, then the time when your newborn’s colic will go away will come very soon. Remember that colic is physiological, but you just need to ease the baby’s suffering. But almost every baby has them up to 3-4 months, you just need to get through this time, it will pass and all the difficulties will quickly be forgotten.
Author:
Revus Olesya Grigorievna, neurologist
An easy way to recognize colic
Symptoms of intestinal colic:
- colic appears at the same time (during feeding, after feeding, in the evening) and continues for an equal period of time (usually about 3 hours).
It is believed that this is due to daily fluctuations in breast milk (changes in the composition of mother's milk).
- bloating in the baby;
- prolonged high-pitched crying;
- the baby spits out the breast;
- twitches its legs, arches its back;
- does not calm down when rocking;
- the face may be slightly red;
- The child begins to cry with colic in the evening or night.
Causes
The occurrence of colic is provoked by a variety of factors. The child's body is individual, only a doctor can correctly determine the source. But parents should also know what causes increased gas formation.
Cause of colic in newborns:
- Digestive system, intestines. After birth, the baby's digestion process is not established.
- Nervous system. After birth, the neuromuscular system is not ready for stress.
- Constipation. Often due to an incompletely formed intestinal tract, food stagnation occurs.
- Mom's nutrition. The baby's life depends on the mother. Failure to follow the diet leads to excessive production of gases in the baby’s intestines.
- Swallowing air.
- Incorrect process for preparing artificial formula.
- The muscles of the abdominal region are weakened.
Excess air
During feeding, the baby is able to grasp the nipple incorrectly, which leads to swallowing a large amount of air along with the milk. Or, when crying, air enters the stomach.
After feeding, gases collect in the stomach and then pass into the intestines. To prevent this situation, you need to hold the baby in an upright position for a little while. When the belching goes away, you should put the baby down.
If excess air enters the baby’s stomach during meals, it is worth taking short breaks and allowing excess gases to escape.
If there is a lack of breast milk in the mother or if it is not nutritious enough for the baby, feeding is done with infant formula or cow's milk.
Allergies to these products may occur, diarrhea and excess gas may appear. To prevent the situation from worsening, you need to change the mixture.
Binge eating
If the mother produces more milk than necessary, the baby is able to overeat, which will contribute to the accumulation of gases as a result of the inability to digest food. The difficulty lies in the digestive system, which is not ready to accept large volumes. It is worth reducing the portion size and increasing the number of feedings.
A similar situation can arise in a baby who is on artificial feeding. In this case, you can control the amount of baby formula eaten. Limit the volume to 100 ml, but offer to eat more often.
Premature babies often suffer from lactose intolerance. Their intestines produce insufficient quantities of the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of milk sugar. As a result, processes of fermentation, rotting, and increased production of gases begin in the organ. As the baby grows, the body becomes stronger and the normal amount of enzyme production is restored. Lactose is digestible.
Natural breast milk supplies the child's body with the necessary bifidobacteria. When a baby's diet consists of formula milk, his intestines become deficient in the microorganisms necessary for digestion. The body of such infants contains other bacteria: lactoorganisms and microbes. With a decrease in immune defense, microbes begin to multiply rapidly, which leads to negative consequences.
In food located in the intestinal tract, putrefactive processes develop, this provokes the production of more gases, resulting in colic and constipation. Premature babies suffer from colic much longer than those born at term and fed breast milk. For such children, the unpleasant sensations will end in about six months.
When faced with colic for the first time, when the baby begins to cry a lot, twist his legs and bend them towards his tummy, a young mother may become confused, because she does not understand what and why is bothering the baby, and how to help him.
What causes colic in babies? While in the mother’s tummy, the child received the necessary nutrients through the umbilical cord; after birth, all organs of the gastrointestinal tract began to be involved in the process of digesting food; they are in the process of adapting to the environment and the new diet. This condition can begin in two weeks after birth and end in six months. Most often, boys suffer from colic.
What causes colic in a baby, other possible causes:
- With breastfeeding, colic most often appears as a sign that the mother has eaten a specific food. Some foods can cause not only colic in newborns, but also all kinds of intestinal diseases. Therefore, a nursing mother should pay special attention to what she eats;
- For bottle-fed babies, the cause of pain may be an incorrectly selected milk formula. All mixtures have a different composition, maybe some substances are not absorbed by the baby’s body;
- Often colic can occur due to the fact that the baby is in a hurry while sucking the breast or pacifier and swallows a lot of excess air;
- With breastfeeding, colic may appear due to an uncomfortable position or improper grip of the breast. All a mother needs to do is to establish breastfeeding technique;
- When bottle-feeding, the cause of abdominal pain may be an incorrectly selected nipple for the bottle;
- Often colic occurs when a baby is switched from breast milk to formula, this is easy to recognize. Many babies do not digest lactose, fats and other substances that are part of the milk formula.
Newborn crying a lot due to abdominal pain
When do they go away, these colics?
Since this phenomenon is quite common among newborns, but temporary, parents can calm down and be patient. Exacerbation of pain begins at 6-7 weeks of life, after which it will gradually begin to leave the baby. But since children are all different, those born prematurely have colic that starts later and, accordingly, goes away later. They usually go away at the age of 3-4 months . Compared to other age-related phenomena, colic is not as bad as it seems. Ahead of the parents is teething, learning to eat independently, potty training... and so on.
By following the above recommendations, mothers can calmly and easily pass all these tests. Especially if the child is the first in the family. The main thing is not to panic and not to get angry with the baby. After all, this is not capriciousness, and not a cool disposition. Not every adult can withstand such tests as excessive gas formation. This is not just discomfort, for some it is excruciating pain. After all, the symptoms are similar to those of appendicitis.
Every newborn, regardless of gender and character, needs a sufficient amount of attention, care, and preferably a calm environment. The mother’s experiences are easily transmitted to the child, since in the first years of life there is a strong spiritual connection between mother and child. Therefore, you also need to take care of yourself and not despair.
