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Harvey Karp's solution for colic
The author of The Happiest Baby on the Block talks about what colic is and how parents can help their babies feel better
Every year, roughly 25 percent of newborns are born with colic – a condition that is diagnosed when a baby cries for more than three hours per day.
Parents and doctors have remained flummoxed by the question of colic – its causes and cures – for ages. Harvey Karp is one of North America's leading paediatricians on the subject. His best-selling book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, has helped thousands of parents cope with colic in newborns. We reached Dr. Harvey Karp for this Q&A at his paediatric practice in Los Angeles.
What do we know today about colic and its causes?
For thousands of years, we thought that colic was an intestinal discomfort that babies had, either caused from overeating or having stomach gas. They would double up and seem to squirm in pain and often pass gas. In fact, the word colic comes from the same basic word as the word colon. Children would be treated with all sorts of things, from extra burping to hot water bottles for the stomach to special formulas.
Studies have shown that, in western cultures, about 15 percent of children have what's described as colic, according to the medical definition.
Most babies cry and fuss for about an hour or an hour-and-a-half per day, but some will cry and fuss for more than three hours, which is the medical definition of colic. You'll notice it doesn't say anything about the cause of the crying.
What’s your opinion about the cause of colic?
In my view, the cause of colic is that our babies are born three months before they're really ready for the world. And because of that, they have this funny combination of being over-stimulated, on the one hand, and terribly under-stimulated, on the other (the latter being the much bigger problem).
In the womb, the baby has a non-stop symphony of sensations. He or she is being held, touched, and jiggled, and hears the non-stop sound of the blood flow, which is louder than a vacuum cleaner, 24/7. So to bring a baby into your house and put them in a dark, quiet room by themselves is sensory depriving. Some kids can tolerate that, and some kids just can't. They need the stimulation that they had inside the womb, and what I observe in my work is that when you imitate the sensations of the womb, it doesn't just reassure them – it literally flips a switch. It turns on a calming reflex that all babies have at birth.
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What do you think?