Colic is a condition in which a healthy newborn baby is irritable, distressed and fussy and cries or screams frequently for a long period each day and for a long duration (such as several hours daily, on several days a week and over several weeks) while refusing to be comforted.

Colic is quite common as up to one fifth of babies suffer from it after birth.

The exact causes of colic are unknown (and your baby may appear to be upset for no reason you can find) but it is not actually harmful to your child though it can be very distressing for you as a parent, especially if its your first child and you are inexperienced.

In many cases the level of distress and crying increases at particular times during the day – especially evenings.

If your child develops colic, it will usually happen within the first 2 weeks after birth. It rarely lasts beyond their 4th month and often completely ceases rather suddenly.

Colic has been found to occur whether or not the baby is breast or bottle-fed.

It has been observed that babies with colic still feed regularly, gain weight and develop normally. If your child loses weight or has feeding problems, the distress may be due to something else and you should see your doctor or medical practitioner

You should note that colic is not caused by pain so even if your child looks uncomfortable they may not actually be.

The main issue with colic is actually the stress it causes you as a parent – especially with the tendency to believe something is seriously wrong, lack of sleep and irritation due to the constant crying.

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