What is Colic?

Colic is the medical term given to the frequent, excessive crying in a baby that seems to be otherwise completely healthy. It affects up to one in five babies, starting in the first few weeks after birth and generally stopping after a few months. The crying usually takes place in the late afternoon or evening and lasts for several hours. Classic colic symptoms are; the baby’s face may become flushed, and they may clench their fists or draw their knees up to their stomach.

The cause of colic is not fully understood, but from my own experience there seems little doubt that a digestive issue is at the root of the problem. Many mothers have reported noticing the problem arise when they have started to feed their babies formula foods. This is understandable as factory produced milk formulas do not contain the enzymes that are present in breast milk. At the same time, many babies who breastfeed are also affected by colic, but it is likely that in such cases the mother’s diet may be a causative factor.

Ayurvedic colic treatment ideally utilises the mother’s milk as a delivery system for the medicines which are used to address this problem. Attention is also given to the mother’s digestion and diet. At this time a breastfeeding mother should avoid all Vata increasing foods, such as cabbage, cauliflower, kidney and broad beans, mussels and cocoa. For babies who are not breastfeeding it is often helpful to massage them twice daily, back and front, with Lakhshadi oil to reduce symptoms of colic.

For further advice on colic in babies please call us at the Yatan Holistic Ayurvedic Centre on 1300 552 260.