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All infants cry, but most of the crying is unexplained. The explanations often attributed to infant crying include pain, hunger, anger and boredom. Unexplained increased excessive crying within the first three months of life that occurs in otherwise healthy infants is often labelled “infant colic.” Depending on how it is defined, colic is said to affect about 10 to 20% of babies at this age. One salient characteristic is that it tends to follow a pattern of increasing for the first two months of life, peaking at about six weeks, and usually lessening by the fourth or fifth month of age. However, this pattern is true of all infants, whether their crying is considered “excessive” or not, and is now recognized as the “normal crying curve.” During this period, intense crying bouts can occur with no apparent reason, are difficult to soothe, and often last 35 to 40 minutes on average or as long as a couple of hours. They usually occur in the late afternoon or evening.
Infants whose fussiness persists throughout infancy, or whose increased fussiness gets worse after the first four months, are often said to have a difficult temperament. Crying related to infant colic can be hard to distinguish from crying related to difficult temperament. The major difference is that in colic, the crying bouts lessen with time, while in infants with temperamental difficulties, the increased fussing lasts throughout infancy, and even beyond. Though crying due to difficult temperament can sometimes be modified, difficult temperament is often stable across the life span, constitutionally based and heritable.
Positive consequences:
Excessive crying through the first months of life can cause frustration and stress within the family. Nevertheless, there are positive consequences associated with crying behaviour. One such consequence is that crying allows infants to build close relationships to those who most reliably respond to their needs. In this way, crying may be central to the formation of an emotional bond or “attachment” with a particular caregiver(s).
Negative consequences:
Many studies on colicky infants have shown convincingly that there are no negative long-term outcomes for the infants. Most parents show no negative consequences, but lack of confidence in caregiving abilities persists in some, and they are more likely to consider their infants “vulnerable.” However, infants with difficult temperament are more likely to experience long-term differences. Infants who are fussy and difficult to soothe are more likely to be at increased risk for preschool problem behaviour, adolescent adjustment difficulties, or aggressive behaviour and attention difficulties.
The mother’s interpretation of crying behaviour may be affected by maternal depression. When they occur together, maternal depression and colic or excessive crying may affect parent-infant interactions, relationships and even child outcomes. Maternal depression adversely influences some aspects of infant development and behaviour. This applies particularly to difficulties with soothing, irritability and crying behaviour.
High-pitched or hyperphonated crying may be due to a wide range of neurobehavioral insults, including brain damage, malnutrition, asphyxia, prenatal maternal drug use, prematurity and low birth weight. High-pitched crying in infants who have prenatal risk factors may elicit caregiver responses that either improve or worsen the infant’s risk condition. In homes with less responsive parents, infants may show lower IQ scores, more withdrawn temperaments and poorer quality interactions with their mothers.
The most extreme consequences for an inconsolably crying infant are neglect and outright abuse, especially Shaken Baby Syndrome, which sometimes results in brain damage or even death.
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