Colic is a mysterious condition. Despite all the research, no one really knows what it is, what causes it, or why some infants get it and others don't. Various studies have found some relationships between certain foods and colic. No study has really determined the best treatment for a colicky baby.
One commonly recommended way to lessen the chances of a baby developing colic is breast-feeding. Doctors at the Children's Hospital in Ottawa, Canada, studied 856 mother-infant pairs in the hope of determining if breast-feeding affects the chances a baby will have colic.
Of the original 856 pairs, only 617 of the mothers completed both the one week and six week questionnaires. Overall, 24% of the infants in each group had colic at six weeks of age.
Factors that increased a baby's chances of having colic included high levels of maternal anxiety, maternal alcohol consumption, and shift work during pregnancy. Factors that reduced the chances of colic included being married or having a common law partner and full-time employment during pregnancy. The feeding method had no effect.
The reasons for these relationships have yet to be determined. However, breast-feeding doesn't lessen the risks of having a colicky baby.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 11/02.
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