About one in five of all infants suffer from colic. It can be distressing to see your baby in such obvious discomfort, but if you recognise that's what it is, you'll soon realise you've not done anything to cause it. Colic is defined as repeated episodes of excessive and inconsolable crying in a newborn baby which otherwise appears to be perfectly healthy. This type of crying is also commonly referred to as persistent crying.
This is naturally upsetting and frustrating for a parent to witness; trying to comfort a baby who has been crying uncontrollably for hours, when nothing seems to help. There will likely be more than the baby's tears as you may feel like crying yourself but it's important to remember that you're not doing anything wrong and your baby isn't crying for any particular reason.
And so you know the signs to watch out for, other symptoms of colic can include: crying for at least three hours a day, at least three days a week, for at least three weeks, general discomfort, drawing up of the knees, wind and redness of the face.
But what causes it? It's generally caused by imbalances in your baby's digestive system, and could be triggered by things like transitory food/formula intolerance, gas accumulation and Intestinal inflammation.
To try to combat it - and to ensure both mum and baby are feeling healthy from the inside out - Irish company Pharmed have created the MyPro range which aims to deliver the next generation of probiotic interventions, one specifically for new babies, one for people with iron deficiency or for improved iron uptake such as women of childbearing age, pregnant women, children and adolescents.
For help preventing colic, in particular, they have created MyPro Colicare which contains a clinically proven strain of pro-biotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG proven to ease the effects of infant colic and help develop a healthy digestive system. It contains sunflower oil which increases bacterial survival rates, it Increases energy levels and strengthens the immune system and is high in Vitamin E.
They advise giving five drops daily preferably with first meal/bottle of the day or as recommended by your GP. For babies and infants, drops may be mixed with milk formulation or dropped into mouth to ensure administration. Maximum temperature 37oC. For breastfeeding, simply rub formulation around the nipple. Available in pharmacies nationwide.
