Colic and mums diet

[sabbby82]

Does what mum eats affect baby's colic?

[whereisshe]

Only if the baby has an intolerance eg to cows milk protein. More info here.

[tiktok]

This has been studied quite a lot. No one has found the mother's diet is linked to colic (apart from the very occasional, very sensiitive/allergic baby, where it might be linked).

[CustardFromATin]

Everyone I know with unsettled babies (including me!) has tried to give up various foods with minimal success. Cows milk is a real issue for some but is apparently way overdiagnosed (something like 3% of bf babies), and if it is that then you'll need to cut all dairy and usually soy too to get any effect. Formula fed babies get plenty of colic too, my first did, but their mums blame it on bottles/overstimulation/wind instead... and at least they're not so hungry!

[ShineSmile]

Yes. You should cut out dairy and soya for two weeks and see if it makes a difference. Eggs, wheat and fish might be an issue too.

[thisvelvetglove]

Hi Leah 36.

How interesting that you only ever post about 'Calming Colic'. . .

Your posts read like an advert.

[tiktok]

I have seen sample chapters of this book. It promotes the use of probiotics (I guess this is what Leah means by a 'prohibitive'?). There is no evidence for their effectiveness in colic and in fact a recent review found that the group of babies given probiotics cried more.

Sung V, Hiscock H, Tang ML, et al.
Treating infant colic with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri: double blind, placebo controlled randomised trial.
BMJ 2014;348:g2107

There are other weaknesses in the book, but we'll leave it there for the moment.

[CustardFromATin]

Good point tiktok! I do see that there's enough evidence for women to cut out dairy and soy for a few weeks (our paediatrician said if it is the case, you should see a very noticeable improvement in just 3-4 days, though a full improvement would take 6 weeks as it takes time for all the proteins to leave your and then the baby's body)... But beyond that there is so much emphasis on diet these days, it certainly contributed a lot to my struggles after dd was born and I'm sure is unnecessarily pushing women away from bfing as the diet thing becomes too challenge and ffing is a simpler option. (nothing wrong with formula if it's what you want, ds1 was ff from day 6 and just fine, but it's a shame to stop if you'd otherwise like to do it).

OP, hope your baby calms down and in the meantime skin on skin and lots of sling time was best for us - the sling helps then feel close, minimises reflux and wind, and if they're still crying at least they feel safe and you have your hands free to make a cuppa or call your mum for moral support!

[tiktok]

Custard, there is some evidence for dairy (not sure if soya has been looked at), but almost anything you do will eventually appear to show an improvement because colic symptoms get better over time. Go figure :)

If a baby is sensitive to dairy, it makes no sense to switch to (regular) formula, which is entirely dairy :)

[Superworm]

Cows milk proteins have been found to account for 10% of colic in various studies, so it's seen to be uncommon.

The reasons there is not much evidence for it, is that research in breastfeeding is woefully lacking. Nobody wants to fund it and it's difficult to conduct for ethical reasons.

Interestingly, the research that does help confirm cows milk proteins as a problem is undertaken by formula companies. Their research found breaking down cows milk proteins (hydrolysing them) reduces crying times for some babies.

[tiktok]

Superworm, you say "Cows milk proteins have been found to account for 10% of colic in various studies"....wow, that's a higher number than my memory of reading the recent literature, though it could be as high as that in non-bf (ie fully ff babies) in some studies, I suppose.

It is a devil of a job for research to ensure something actually 'accounts for' ie causes colic....first off, colic is not a diagnosis but a description, and second off, improvements in symptoms happen anyway whatever you do :)

[Superworm]

Sorry yes the 10% was for babies regardless of their feeding method. Not all those have allergies.

I agree definition and aetiology are tricky. Crying time seems to be the most measured outcome in colic. Although you could argue, the babies with allergies are not crying due to colic but due to allergies

[CustardFromATin]

Apparently double blind studies suggest that CMPI affects 3-4% of infants under 1 and a much smaller proportion of ebf - 0.3 to 0.4%. Of course this does mean it's still a real issue for some families and always worth a try but nothing like what you'd think reading some forums! Like you say tiktok it think a lot of it is that colic is mostly fixed with time- but I do wonder how many kids are missing out on calcium or parents are being bankrupted by hydrolysed formula in the meantime.

www.redorbit.com/news/health/333173/the_diagnosis_and_management_of_cow_milk_protein_intolerance_in/, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2553152/

[Pizdets]

I think it's human nature to identify a problem and want to find a solution to it. I drove myself mad eating/not eating certain things during ds' first 12/14 weeks and trying all kinds of drops and feeding positions. In the end the most important change I made was to my mentality - I tried to deal with the situation as it was rather than fixing it. i think in the vast majority of cases the only cure is time. DS would be awake and moaning from around 2am most nights and it was , but he did grow out of it. Hope if you're struggling that your DC grows out of it soon (and they will!)

[Oly4]

I tried
Citron out wheat and dairy and it didn't make a scrap of difference. Colic gets better with time

[tiktok]

Glad the book helped you, Leah :)

I think we need more research, as this NHS Choices article says:

www.nhs.uk/news/2014/04April/Pages/Probiotics-no-good-at-treating-infant-colic.aspx

[AnythingNotEverything]

I think Piz makes an interesting point. I don't think colic is a recognised condition that you can cure as such. Isn't it more like "unexplained evening crying and discomfort"? I do t think it has a defined cause.

It normally gets better in time. Change your mindset rather than looking for a solution and you may have more success.

[thisvelvetglove]

Sorry if my post sounded cheeky. I just recognised your post and saw that was all you had posted about. Ever. I must be getting a bit cynical.

[ShineSmile]

Oly, did you cut out egg too?

Colic isn't a medical condition, it's used when doctors don't know what exactly is wrong with the child. The crying at that stage is normally either because of an allergy/intolerance or reflux, or something more serious.

[Catsmamma]

my hopeless HV gave me one valuable bit of info when Ds1 was screaming blue bloody murder in the evenings....which was to watch my intake of beans/pulses

and looking back each of the dreadful evenings had been after I had eaten something like that.
So that worked for me!

He is 22 years old though now so that info could well be dated/disproved

[thisvelvetglove]

ShineSmileThu 24-Jul-14 16:51:36

Oly, did you cut out egg too?Colic isn't a medical condition, it's used when doctors don't know what exactly is wrong with the child. The crying at that stage is normally either because of an allergy/intolerance or reflux, or something more serious.

Or because of nothing! Some babies just cry more at that age, then grow out of it. I didn't change my diet at all and one had 'colic'and one didn't

[tiktok]

ShineSmile, the vast majority of cases of colic/excessive crying are nothing to do with health or diet or something physically wrong.

[ShineSmile]

tiktok, you may be right, but I don't buy it. Babies at that age don't cry for no reason.

[tiktok]

I didn't say they cried for 'no reason'.

They absolutely do cry for a reason.

The reason is nothing to do with diet or something physically wrong with them - in the vast majority of cases.