Colic In Babies, Normal Conditions That Look Abnormal
Colic in infants is a condition when the baby cries for hours, loudly, difficult to control, and without a clear cause. According to the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), colic usually occurs in infants aged 2 weeks to 4 months. Generally, colic lasts more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week, for 3 weeks or more.
Mothers and fathers must be worried about this condition, but actually this is common for newborns, and is not considered a health problem.
The cause of colic is often not clearly known, but it is thought to be due to the following:
1. ) Discomfort in the stomach is related to an immature digestive system. In newborns, digestive problems are still difficult, such as the pattern of digesting food, there is a lot of gas in the digestive tract, hunger, or being too full
2. ) Increased intestinal peristalsis resulting in gastro-intestinal reflux (GERD)
3. ) Cow's milk allergy or lactose intolerance
4. ) Imbalance of microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract, lower Lactobacillus bacteria and higher pathogenic bacteria
Colic itself has its own characteristics, including clenching the legs and hands, flushed face, arching the back, hardening the stomach, and pulling the knees towards the stomach.
Parents only need to calm and make the baby comfortable to deal with colic by massaging the baby's stomach with telon oil, bathing the baby in warm water, holding the baby, giving soothing such as a pacifier, humming, placing it in a baby's rocking chair, or giving probiotics.
However, if colic still occurs in infants aged more than 4 months, or cries in a high tone, the body droops, does not gain weight, has no appetite, looks pale, looks difficult to breathe, feels protruding fontanel, has a fever, or has a bowel movement pattern. Urinary and large water is not normal immediately consult a doctor for proper treatment.
Parents can consult about colic with a pediatrician through the mDoc application. Consultations can be done online by chat or video call, or offline by booking an appointment in advance so you don't have to queue.