Everybody has wind - including babies!
Burps. Farts. You do it. Everyone does it. We swallow air when we eat, drink, talk. We produce gas when we digest. And we expel this gas and air at both ends of the digestive tract - mouth and bum. And babies do too.
New parents are often alarmed by their newborn’s experience of this normal part of life outside the womb. As are those newborns! However - despite what everyone and their grandmother has declared since the dawn of time - discomfort with the process of dispelling swallowed air or digestive gases is not a cause for concern in the majority of cases.
A foetus lives in the womb for around 40 weeks and does not experience air or digestion. The bacteria which will populate the gut and produce those natural gases (as they process breastmilk or infant formula) only arrive after birth, through colostrum and contact with the mother’s skin during and after birth. And while babies swallow in the womb, that is only amniotic fluid and doesn't require coordination of the suck, swallow, breath cycle.
Newborns can be distressed by the normal experience of a distended stomach (stretched) or a bowel expelling gas andfaeces. And even if they aren't experiencing discomfort, they will squirm and pull funny faces as they process that expulsion. They will hiccup. They will grunt and they might cry or fuss. Normal is not always comfortable. Babies will signal displeasure by crying.
Babies cry frequently during their first three months. On average, they cry for nearly two hours each day, and around 20% cry much longer. Crying usually peaks at 6-8 weeks and then slowly decreases to about one hour a day by 12 weeks.
Typical infant crying peaks in the 6-12 week age group. This is unexplained crying not directly related to a baby expressing a need. All human babies go through this stage, however there is a spectrum of normal experience. We cannot prevent or cure this type of crying, only support our babies as they go through it. We can, however, identify causes of other crying, which can occur alongside this developmental period.
Dr Ronald Barr, a developmental paediatrician who has extensive experience and research in crying babies and other infant mammals, created an acronym to describe what is happening to these babies at this time. He calls it the period of PURPLE crying
The crying curve illustrates the typical patterns of crying in infants during their first year of life. According to Dr. Ronald Barr's research, infants tend to cry more during the early months, with a peak around six to eight weeks of age. As they grow, the duration and frequency of crying generally decrease, leading to a more manageable pattern by the time they reach four to six months.
This phenomenon is not exclusive to human infants; it has also been observed in primates, indicating a biological aspect of crying behavior across species. The crying curve provides a valuable framework for parents and caregivers to understand that increased crying in infants is often normal and can be expected as part of their development.
Understanding the crying curve can help alleviate concerns for new parents, reinforcing that while crying can be challenging, it is a phase that typically resolves as infants grow and develop their communication skills. It also emphasizes the importance of responsive caregiving, as recognizing and responding to an infant's cries can foster a secure attachment between caregiver and child.
Says Dr. Barr:
“The first feature that really frustrates parents is that the amount of crying that happens in a day tends to increase and increase in the first two (or sometimes three) months of life. Then it reaches its highest point, and begins to decrease. This is the basic peak pattern of crying in infants. However, although they all do it, there are lots of differences between one infant and another.
For example, some infants might have their “peak” at 3 weeks of age, while others have it at 8 weeks of age. For some infants, the amount of crying that infants do at the peak might be 1 hour a day; for others, the amount of crying might be 5 hours.”
Peak crying between three weeks and 8 weeks, 1 hour a day or 5? That's a huge amount of variance! Yet another reminder that “normal” varies greatly between individuals and it not always comfortable or pleasant.
Remedies and Treatments
Some babies are more alarmed by their experience of needing to burp or fart. Other babies seem undisturbed at all. If your baby is especially uncomfortable, you might be tempted to use remedies or treatments. While it is always reassuring to rule out the very rare medical issues which could be causing extreme discomfort, the majority of babies simply grow out of their distress as it becomes a familiar experience.
There is no evidence that over-the-counter or prescribed treatments for “wind” or “colic” have any effect or shorten the period of discomfort. Herbal or other alternative medicine may not be regulated. A very popular product when my first baby was born in the 80s was “gripe water. It contained the herb dill … and alcohol! Mothers swore by it!
GRIPE WATER AND COLIC
Despite much anecdotal evidence extolling the benefit of gripe water for colic, no formal evaluation has ever been undertaken. Until recently it had been assumed that alcohol provided the soothing effect!. For a 4kg infant, the maximum recommended dose of Woodward’s gripe water (3.6% alcohol) would be the equivalent of almost five tots of whisky in an 80kg adult'. In some of the other commercial gripe waters the alcohol has been as high as 9%. Not surprisingly, there are reports of adults becoming addicted to gripe water!. In the only study comparing an alcohol solution (20%) with placebo, alcohol was no more effective in relieving colic.
Alcohol was also used in the Victorian era to calm fractious babies. It killed many - often disguised as death due to the mother “overlying” the infant while cosleeping. It should be noted the use of cheap alcoholic products like gin was also rampant among impoverished households.
Much of the gin was drunk by women: consequently children were neglected, daughters were sold into prostitution, and wet nurses gave gin to babies to quieten them. This worked provided they were given a large enough dose!
(Warning: do not give your baby alcohol!)
As recently as the 2020s, a product was recalled in Australia after it was found to contain chloroform. Despite there being little evidence of effectiveness, popular brands of infant colic drops continue to be sold in Australia and globally.
“Of Colike and Rumblyng in the Guttes”
The search for a cure for crying babies probably pre-dates written history but is certainly evident as early as the mediaeval period. A notable book of that time is “The boke of chyldren (1545) by Thomas Phaire. You can read the original text here, however I caution against following any of the advice contained!
OF COLIKE AND RUMBLYNG IN THE GUTTES.
Peine in the belly is a common disease of childre, it commeth either of wormes, or of taking cold, or of euil mylke, the sygnes thereof are to well knowen, for the chyld can not rest, but cryeth and fretteth it selfe, and manye tymes can not make their vryne, by reason of wynde, that oppresseth the necke of the bladder, and is knowen also by the member in a manne chylde, whiche in this case is alway stiffe, and pricking, moreouer the noyse and rüblyng in the guttes, hither and thider, declareth the childe to be greued, with wynde in the belly, and colyke.
Cure.
The nource must auoyde all maner meates that engëder wynd, as beanes, peason, butter, harde egges, and such. Than washe the chyldes belly with hote water, wherein hath bene sodden cümine, dyll and fenel, after that make a playster of oyle and waxe, and clappe it hote vpon a cloth vnto the belly.
THE BOKE OF CHYLDREN
An other good plaister for the same entent.
Take good stale ale and freshe butter, seeth them with an handful of cümine poudred, and after put it all together into a swynes bladder, & bynde the mouth faste, that the lycoure yssue not out, the wind it in a cloth, & turne it vp and doun vpon the belly as hote as the paciēt may suffer, this is good for the colyke after a sodayne colde, in all ages, but in chyldren ye muste beware ye applie it not to hote.
Babies cry more in some parts of the world than others!
Babies cry more in the U.K., Canada, and Italy than in other countries, while babies in Denmark, Germany, and Japan cry the least, according to a study in The Journal of Pediatrics. The study looked at colic, defined as crying over 3 hours each day for at least three days a week, in babies during their first 12 weeks. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 8,700 infants to assess the prevalence of colic.
In the U.K., 28% of babies aged 1 to 2 weeks experienced colic, compared to an average of 17.4%. In Canada, 34.1% of babies at 3 to 4 weeks had colic, while the average was 18.4%. Conversely, only 6.7% of babies in Denmark at 5 to 6 weeks had colic, much lower than the average of 25.1%. The study did not find reasons for the differences among countries, but researchers suggest further investigation into cultural and genetic factors.
Focus of soothing, not solving, your baby’s distress
If you have been advised your infant’s crying is typical and has no medical cause requiring treatment, its time to shift into management mode. For the next weeks or months, your baby is going to be unsettled. It will peak then gradually decrease in intensity. Now it is time to build both your resilience, supports and toolbox of soothing and settling techniques.
In her iconic book, Pinky McKay offers 100 Ways to Calm the Crying. Yes - 100. Because babies are all different, what soothes one child will annoy the heck out of another. And what worked wonders yesterday has a negative effect today.
Most techniques which work are hands-on. Adjusting expectations against your reality is important. Like it or not, your baby cannot be put down and needs to be held. Connection is essential for baby’s who are struggling with distress. Wherever possible, find ways to adapt your lifestyle to fit this current life season. Accept all offers of practical support - and reach out if nobody is offering them. Buy the support you need in the form or convenience meals, home deliveries and moving main meal preparation to calmer periods of the day. Make temporary changes around single-use products versus reusable: right now, others can look after the environment while you are in survival mode.
Babywearing is a universal aid to babies who need to be upright, attached and moving. Contact napping and extended periods of cluster feeding are likely to be part of your package. Any adult, teenager or older child can help here - reach out to neighbours, family and friends for a willing pair of arms looking for pocket money carrying your baby while you bath older children, serve up dinner, get the washing laundered or have a shower.
Beware of businesses promising to sell you solutions to infant crying. At best, they work with typical crying not this intense type and at worst they are harmful. This includes books promising to teach your baby not to cry. If there was a solution you could buy, it would be universal! Save your money and put it towards practical help or personal self care.
Trusted books you might like to read:
Crying Babies and Food: In the early years
Food-Sensitive Babies dietary investigation for breastfed babies
