'Friendly' Bacteria May Soothe Colic

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Daily doses of "friendly" bacteria may help colicky babies cry less, a new study finds. The study included 50 babies, ages 2 to 16 weeks old. All of them were fed only breast milk. On average, they cried about 5 to 6 hours a day. Half of the babies were randomly assigned to receive drops containing Lactobacillus reuteri bacteria. These are known as probiotic bacteria. They may help digestion and also crowd out harmful bacteria in the gut. The other half of the babies received placebo drops. Mothers kept diaries recording how much their babies cried during the 3-week study. By the end, both groups were crying less. But crying time dropped much more in the group that received the probiotic bacteria. Their average crying time was 35 minutes a day, compared with 90 minutes for the placebo group. The journal Pediatrics published the study online August 16.

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

Colic is pretty common among infants. A healthy baby who cries a lot without any clear reason is said to have colic. Some people say a baby has colic when he or she cries for:

• Three or more hours at a time for...


• At least three days per week for...


• Three or more weeks

Colic may affect as many as 1 out of 4 babies. No one knows for sure what causes colic. There are many ideas. One idea is that the bacteria in the gut are not quite right.

Bacteria are a natural and healthy part of our gut. They do all sorts of things that help us. Babies are born without gut bacteria, but they get them very quickly. There are many different kinds. For example, Escherichia coli is a normal part of our gut bacteria, but high growth levels of E. coli and other similar bacteria could be causing colic pain.

One group of scientists thought that if babies grow more healthy bacteria, it might help stop colic. They decided to try treating colicky babies with a probiotic called Lactobacillus reuteri. The journal Pediatrics published their study online this week.

You have probably heard of probiotics before. Probiotics are live bacteria that:

• Can be put in some foods


• Are given as supplements


• Do not cause infection or illness themselves


• Can help with digestion

They are used to prevent or treat various gastrointestinal disorders. Priobiotics are generally safe and are taken by people of all ages.

This new study compared colicky infants who were treated with the probiotic Lactobacillus to ones who were not. The infants who were treated:

• Had less daily crying time


• Had fewer E. coli bacteria and more Lactobacillus in their gut


• Had less ammonia in their gut


• Grew the same as infants who were not treated


• Had no side effects caused by the treatment

All of the infants were breastfed only. The mothers also were told they should not drink any cow's milk. This way we can be sure the effect was not caused by the mothers' diets.

The treatment was safe and seemed to help stop the pain of colic. After one week of treatment, 80% of the colicky babies were crying half as much as they were before treatment. By the end of the third week, 24 out of 25 babies treated were crying less than half the time they were before!

Over time, the infants who were not treated also got better. This is probably because most babies "outgrow" colic on their own anyway. But they did not get better as fast as the babies who were given the probiotic.

What Changes Can I Make Now?

Colic is very stressful. It is very hard to listen to your baby cry and not be able to help. Parents do not like when their baby seems to cry all the time for no good reason. Some wonder if there's something wrong with the baby.

Colic causes some parents to:

• Lose sleep


• Feel overwhelmed


• Feel alone


• Feel depressed


• Feel like failures

Remember, if your baby is very fussy and you are having trouble comforting him, it may just be colic. It is not your fault that your baby has colic.

Talk with your baby's doctor. She can check to see if there is any treatable cause for the crying. If there's no medical cause, the doctor can reassure you that nothing major is wrong.

The doctor can also help you with your stress or fears. He can offer you support while you wait for the colic to go away. Try some of these ideas for soothing a crying baby:

• Rock the baby in your arms.


• Carry him around in a sling or carrier.


• Place her in a stroller and push it back and forth.


• Swaddle-wrap him snugly in a blanket.


• Move to a different room.


• Take the baby for a ride outside in the stroller or the car.


• Pat your baby's back.


• Sing softly, talk with your baby, or turn on some music.


• Ask someone else to help soothe the baby. Why?
  
  
  
• If you're upset, the baby will know it.


• A short break might actually help both of you.

Put your baby down and just let her cry for a while.

The doctor may also recommend you try the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri. Now that this study is out, we know it may help your baby (and you) handle colic better.

Babies eventually outgrow colic as their digestive system matures. If you are struggling, ask for help. Keep in mind that it will not last forever. Colic always goes away!

What Can I Expect Looking to the Future?

Probiotics will continue to be studied for all of their effects. This way parents can be confident that probiotics are safe and effective ways to treat colic.

Colic is more complicated than any one cause. It seems that gut bacteria play a big role, but researchers will also study other causes and more ways to help infants with colic.