What Causes Colic?

Right this very moment, doctors really aren't sure what causes colic. Back in the day, a people believed that it was a milk allergy that caused colic, but doctors now believe that this is rarely, if ever, the case. The reason is because breastfed babies get colic too, and changes in the mother’s diet may help it.

It is now believed that colic is probably not caused by gas either; which is another failed belief system in dealing with colic. Research now suggests that more often than not, colicky babies get gas because they are swallowing too much air while they are feeding or crying.

Some more recent evidence is beginning to suggest that colic occurs when food moves either too quickly or too slowly through a baby's digestive system. It is also suggested that colic can be the result of the baby's individual temperament; which means that some babies just take a little bit longer to get adjusted to living outside of the womb, or that some babies have undiagnosed gastroesophogal reflux disease. Some parents think it is their own fault. That is simply not the case either.

In my daughter’s case, most of her colic episodes occurred during the late afternoon or at night. Most mothers themselves experience hormonal changes in the evening after giving birth. Prolactin is highest during sleep and during the morning, and cortisone which can affect the mother’s ability to deal with their baby is at its lowest around 6:00 p.m.

In the baby's body there are two important hormones, cortisone and growth hormone, and they are at their highest point in the early morning hours and lowest in the evening hours. In the first few months of a baby's life, these varying hormones are much disorganized.

By the time the baby reaches four to six months of age the pattern becomes more consistent and the colic will disappear. You may wonder if it is the stresses you feel that may be causing the colic in your baby. That is not necessarily true either. My answer to this very question was to take an afternoon nap whenever it was possible to recharge my much needed hormone levels. This can shorten the colic’s duration.