Mother & Baby
Colic
Causes of Colic
- The baby swallows air causing heartburn and gas pains, coupled with inadequate burping, causing gas to be trapped.
- Immaturity of the baby's digestive system with intestinal muscle spasms causing abdominal cramps.
- Physiological problems such as insufficient friendly gut flora.
- Overfeeding or an overactive breastmilk let-down reflex providing too much milk too quickly.
- Anxious or tense infant from stress in the home or a stressed mother.
- Mothers diet is too rich in simple carbohydrates and too low in quality protein, or needs nutritional supplements.
- Food Intolerances including: Wheat, yeast, sugar, chocolate, coffee, tea, eggs, peanuts, dairy products. Some fruits particularly citris. Many vegetables including onion, cabbage and garlic.
Symptoms of Colic
- Starts between 1 and 4 weeks of age.
- Prolonged crying, irritability, restlessness and writhing movements.
- Baby wails when laid down but fine when upright
- Loud, intense, continuous, shrill, high pitched shrieks for prolonged periods of the day or night.
- Attacks usually occur around the same time each day.
- Baby draws its knees well up to the stomach, taut tummy - hard and swollen, flailing arms and/or clenched fists.
Possible remedies for colic in babies
- Effective burping techniques are most important. Learning how to bring up wind is the key to a calm baby. You can learn these techniques in Sharlene Pooles Baby Whispering DVD. This DVD is invaluable.
- Feed your baby in a calm, relaxed atmosphere away from stimulation environments and bright lights.
- Warmth is very soothing - feed your baby in the bath together. It is both relaxing and a wonderful skin to skin bonding experience. Use a couple of drops of Quintessence Relaxing Blend to calm the senses.
- Massage is soothing, rub the tummy clockwise, rub the back anti-clockwise, do bicycling motions with baby's legs, give a foot massage. Use Quintessence Baby Massage Oil.
- Use Quintessence Colic Drops to ease the spasm and distress associated with colic.
- Herbs such as aniseed, chamomile and fennel are beneficial for easing the symptoms of colic and can be made into a tea from the dried herb and given directly to the baby.
- Use a high quality Acidophilus probiotic supplement such as Childlife to replace the good bacteria in the gut.
- Breastfeeding mothers to take EFA Essentials, or give a formula fed baby a teaspoon of Childlife EFA daily.
- Breastfeeding mums to use Galactogogue tea which contains herbs such as Fennel and Licorice which help to reduce symptoms of wind in babies.
- Consider having baby's wellbeing checked by our naturopath
- Consider having baby's constitution analysed by our homeopath.
- Consider having baby checked by a neonatal cranial osteopath.





