Infant or Baby Colic

The most accepted definition of infant colic was described by Wessel in 1945, as an inconsolable crying in the baby with less than 3 months of age, with a crying duration of more than 3 hours a day and more than 3 days a week.

It usually occurs in 20% of new-borns, regardless of children who are fed with breast milk or formula, and without differences in the sex of the baby, usually appears after 15 days.

Typical associated behaviours:

• Leg flexion position.
• Closed fists.
• Agitation.
• Nervousness.
• Afternoon or evening crying.

No one really knows the reason that causes it. However, paediatricians begin by changing milk, although the effectiveness of this change has not yet been demonstrated.

It could be mainly an immaturity of the digestive system, which manifests itself with discomfort and pain in the abdomen of the baby. And the fact that in most baby’s colic disappear between three and four months of age, seems to corroborate this hypothesis.

Paediatric Osteopathy, through its adapted techniques of visceral, structural and cranial massage, benefits the elimination of gases, the relaxation of the musculature, and structures that may be involved in this process, and therefore reduce the intensity and time.