Calming crying

Special Report: Calming crying

Parents of colicky infants will go to almost any extreme to calm their chronic crybabies....

"You know we danced around with him around the house, took him for walks outside. "

Now a study of nearly 100 breast fed colicky newborns suggests eliminating common foods linked to allergies like peanuts, eggs, cow's milk, wheat soy and fish - from mom's diet - may help reduce infant crying time.

Australian researchers say babies fed the allergy free diet cried less compared to the group with no diet change. Some experts note that the study was short - just a week, and that moms in the two groups perceived little difference in crying patterns.

"I think there is a lot more that needs to be done to show that those foods really can cause a subset of kids to start crying."

Dr. Wesley Burks also says infants with true food allergies get sick with hives or stomach troubles - and adds there is little evidence linking foods to chronic crying.

"I think what happens is when a child has colic we really want to do something to intervene to make it go away."

A change in diet, notes Burks is a common but still unproven intervention. So as scientists continue the search for a colic cause and cure - parents keep trying - and hoping for a little peace and quiet.

Researchers note that larger and longer studies are needed to better understand the link between colic and diet - and to rule out other causes that may play a role. This study did not include babies on formula. Christa Delcamp, 7News.

(Copyright (c) 2005 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Segment Information

Reported by:

Christa Delcamp

Producer:

Dana Paravati

Contact:

DParavati@whdh.com

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