nbsp; If you’re a first-time parent unaccustomed to dealing with a
crying baby, just imagine caring for a baby suffering from colic - inconsolable bouts of crying lasting for three hours or more, three or more days a week for three weeks or more.

Other symptoms associated with infantile colic include facial flushing, abdominal distention, and gastrointestinal difficulties.

Cow’s milk has been suspected as a culprit in infantile colic. In a study designed to investigate whether alternative formulas may help ease colic, 43 colicky infants received standard formula milk or whey formula (made from a byproduct of cheese manufacturing) for one week, with improvements documented at 10-minute intervals around the clock. Results showed that infants receiving whey formula cried an average of 63 minutes less per day than infants receiving standard formula, leading the authors to conclude: “Substitution of cow’s milk formula by an extensively hydrolyzed whey formula is effective in the treatment of infantile colic.”

If you have a healthy newborn showing any of the symptoms of colic, talk to your doctor about possible solutions, including substituting cow’s milk with whey formula. For additional online information on colic and other childhood conditions, go to http://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/pediatrics.html.

Reference:

Lucassen PLBJ, Assendelft WJJ, Gubbels JW, et al. Infantile colic: crying time reduction with a whey hydrolysate: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Pediatrics, Dec. 2000: Vol. 106, No. 6, pp1349-54.