Infant crying is the vocalizations of infants as a response to an internal or external stimulus. Infants cry as a form of basic instinctive communication. Essentially, newborns are transitioning from life in the womb to the external environment. Up to 27% of parents describe problems with infant crying in the first four months. Up to 38% identify a problem with their infant crying within the first year. Parents can be concerned about the amount of time that their infant cries, how the infant can be consoled, and disrupted sleeping patterns. Colic is used as a synonym for excessive crying of infants, even though colic may not be the cause of excessive crying.
Physiology Crying may elicit the Valsalva reflex. This reflex negatively impacts sucking pressures and results in poor feeding. The cortisol levels will rise along with blood pressure. Increased blood pressure will have an effect on cerebral blood flow, cerebral blood flow velocity and intracranial pressure. Increased pressures and velocity can lead to intracranial hemorrhage. Prolonged exhalation may also cause some adverse effects. Obstructed venous return and quick inspiratory gasp can occur. Foramen ovale shunting can occur. Adults can often determine whether an infant's cries signify anger or pain. Most parents can distinguish their own infant's cries from those of a different child. Babies mimic their parents' pitch contour. French infants wail on a rising note while German infants favor a falling melody. Overstimulation may be a contributing factor to infant crying and that periods of active crying might serve the purpose of discharging overstimulation and helping the baby's nervous system regain homeostasis. Although crying is an infant's mode of communication, it is not limited to a monotonous sound. There are three different types of cries apparent in infants. The first of these three is a basic cry, which is a systematic cry with a pattern of crying and silence. The basic cry starts with a cry coupled with a briefer silence, which is followed by a short high-pitched inspiratory whistle. Then, there is a brief silence followed by another cry. Hunger is a main stimulant of the basic cry. An anger cry is much like the basic cry; in this cry, more excess air is forced through the vocal cords, making it a louder, more abrupt cry. This type of cry is characterized by the same temporal sequence as the basic pattern but distinguished by differences in the length of the various phase components. The third cry is the pain cry, which, unlike the other two, has no preliminary moaning. The pain cry is one loud cry, followed by a period of breath holding.
Misconceptions Misconceptions regarding the purpose of crying in the infant are common among caregivers and medical personnel. These are usually determined by cultural mores and not by evidence-based explanations. Infant crying is regarded by some to be normal. The belief that infants have a need to cry to expand or exercise their lungs is not supported by research. This is because a healthy newborn infant lung's are able to contain a sufficient amount of air plus a reserve. Birth trauma is related to the amount of crying. Mothers who had experienced obstetrical interventions or who were made to feel powerless during birth had babies who cried more than other babies. Babies who had experienced birth complications had longer crying spells at three months of age and awakened more frequently at night crying. When infants cry for no obvious reason after all other causes (such as hunger or pain) are ruled out, the crying may signify a beneficial stress-release mechanism, although not all sources agree with this. The "crying-in-arms" approach is a way to comfort these infants. Another way of comforting and calming the baby is to mimic the familiarity of the mother's womb. Consistency and promptness of maternal response is associated with a decline in frequency and duration of crying by the end of the first year, and individual differences in crying reflect the history of maternal responsiveness rather than constitutional differences in infant irritability.
Causes Most infants cry in response to something, although it may be difficult to identify the cause. Sometimes there may be no apparent reason. Some possible reasons include:
Hunger Sleepiness (Normally just yawns or rubs eyes) Gas pain (for example, if the baby has not burped) Discomfort (for example, a wet diaper) Temperature (for example, feeling too hot or too cold) External stimulus (for example, too much noise or light) Boredom or loneliness Pain (for example, teething) Excessive crying in infants may indicate colic or another health problem. Some health problems are listed below:
Colic
The term 'colic' was defined in 1954 as: "crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, and for more than three weeks in an infant that is well-fed and otherwise healthy." Colic and excessive crying by infants is synonymous to some clinicians. Colic is attributed to gastrointestinal discomfort like intestinal cramping. Clinicians often admit that colic cannot be treated or that alternative treatments are ineffective. The protocol followed by clinicians to treat colic is described as "treating the parents" with reassurance.
Maternal responses Crying in infants is associated with high stress levels and depression in mothers. Excessive crying has also been linked to maternal "physical aggression" and "angry speaking." Mothers without assistance in caring for the infant, are more prone to physical aggression. During evaluations of maternal depression responses to infant crying, sleeping problems are closely associated with excessive crying. It is not always clear that when sleeping problems are associated with infant crying, whether the sleeping problems are descriptive of the mother or the infant or both. Maternal stress is associated with excessive crying.
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