Patterns: For Colic, Don't Blame Parents

By ERIC NAGOURNEY

abies who breast-feed are no less likely to suffer from colic than those who use a bottle, a recent study reports.

Writing in The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, researchers said they had abandoned their theory that a baby's diet might be linked to colic.

Instead, they said, colic, characterized by excessive and inconsolable crying, remains as much a mystery as ever.

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The lead author, Dr. Tammy J. Clifford of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, and her colleagues said they had gleaned some insights into colic. Among other things, the study suggests that early weaning is of no help.

The condition, which causes no harm to infants, is highly stressful for parents, and the researchers said it could play a role in child abuse. Colic usually begins between the child's second and sixth week and then disappears at about three months for reasons that are also unclear.

The researchers had predicted that breast-fed babies would be less susceptible to colic because of breast milk's superiority over formula and the soothing nature of the feeding itself.

But when they followed 856 mothers and their babies, the theory did not pan out. About a quarter of the babies had colic, regardless of what they ate. The researchers also found no association between colic and maternal anxiety or caffeine. Alcohol use did appear related, but it may have been a result of colic, not a cause.

The researchers did find some trends. Mothers who worked or attended school full time before giving birth were less likely to have a baby with colic, as were mothers who had husbands or partners.

The researchers offered some consolation. "We provide further evidence," they said, "that parents are not responsible for their children's colic."