If your newborn’s colic makes you want to scream, try these five calming techniques

In many ways newborns are not quite ready for the world at birth. They need a “fourth trimester” of gentle holding, stroking, shushing and wrapping, according to Harvey Karp, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. Colicky babies are particularly in need of such soothing, he adds.

Colic is the result of these  needs during the first three months of a baby’s life, and not necessarily due to gas, immaturity, or temperament, Dr. Karp says. Colic is defined as:

• Crying that lasts more than three hours a day and occurs more than three days a week, or
• Crying that lasts more than three hours a day and continues for more than three weeks, regardless of how many times a week it occurs.

“Although today’s mothers and fathers are well-educated, they are the least-experienced parents in history,” he says. “No wonder the most loving parents sometimes feel pushed to the breaking point by their infant’s screaming.”

COLIC IS NOT UNCOMMON

Researchers have found that 15 to 20 percent of infants younger than 3 months cry or fuss for more than 3 hours a day, and 50 percent do so for 2 hours a day.

In a recent presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ national conference, Dr. Karp noted that a fourth trimester of rhythmic stimulation soothes babies by activating their calming reflex. “This reflex is a virtual ‘off switch’ for crying infants younger than three months,” he says. Any parent can learn how to activate it through the five S’s: swaddling, side/stomach positioning, shushing, swinging, and sucking.

My husband and I can testify first-hand about the effectiveness of these techniques. When our son was born 15 years ago, Dr. Karp (who was yet to become the best-selling author he is today) was our pediatrician. Nervous first-time parents, Randy and I watched, amazed, as the doctor showed us how to snugly swaddle one-day-old Matthew in a receiving blanket, with his arms at his sides, so that he looked like an adorable little burrito. Then he taught us to make the shushing sounds that worked better than any tonic.

These activities mimic babies’ experiences during their months in uterus, and help most babies sleep an extra one to two hours a night, he says. The techniques may also help prevent other complications associated with colic, such as impaired bonding, breastfeeding challenges, marital stress, depression, and abuse, Dr. Karp adds.

CALMING TECHNIQUES

Here’s how the five S’s work:

• Swaddling — When the baby is wrapped snugly and properly in a receiving blanket, the immobility provides the continuous contact and support experienced in the womb.
• Side/stomach position — While holding her, place your baby either on her left side to assist digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. Once she is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back.
• Shushing Sounds — These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be replicated by means of a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, fan, etc. Fortunately, you can save the motors in your household appliances by buying a white-noise CD.
• Swinging — Newborns are used to the swinging motions experienced in the womb. After birth, these comforting and familiar movements are abruptly taken away. “It’s disorienting and unnatural,” Dr. Karp reports. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help.
• Sucking — “Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system and triggers the calming reflex, releasing natural chemicals within the brain,” says Dr. Karp. This can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier, or even a finger.

Dr. Karp urges parents to be patient as they try different calming techniques.   “Anxious parents may make their baby’s crying worse by impatiently jumping from one calming intervention to another, without waiting to see how their baby responds,” he says.

A FAULTY ALARM

“Crying in early infancy is an excellent signal indicative of need, but a poor signal of what is needed,” Dr. Karp writes in an article for Contemporary Pediatrics magazine. It is a graduated system of alerts, with mild cries conveying the impression of a mild need, and intense cries that of an urgent need, he explains.

“The trouble is that some babies skip right past a mild cry into an intense cry, even when their need isn’t urgent. Like a smoke alarm which blasts out the same sound regardless of whether the toast is burning or the house is in flames, a colicky baby emits the same powerful shriek regardless of whether he is startled, needs to burp, or is in true pain. This can be terribly worrisome to new parents.”

“Recreating the prenatal sensory environment calms newborns, not because they’re nostalgic for the ‘good life’ they had in the womb,” says Dr. Karp, “but because it triggers a profound soothing response — what I call the calming reflex — that halts crying and promotes relaxation.”

I can still picture my husband, Randy, walking around our hospital room, making shushing sounds with our sweet little burrito on his shoulder — fast asleep. I am happy to report that, indeed, these calming techniques worked for us and our little one.

For More Information on Colic

Books:

• When Your Baby Won’t Stop Crying: A Parent’s Guide to Colic, by Tonja Krautter, Psy.D., L.C.S.W. (Sourcebooks, Inc.)
• Why Is My Baby Crying?: The Parent’s Survival Guide for Coping with Crying Problems and Colic, by Barry Lester, Ph.D. and Catherine O’Neill Grace (Collins)

Websites:

• Dr. Karp’s “The Happiest Baby” —www.thehappiestbaby.com
• WebMD — http://children.webmd.com/tc/Colic-Overview