Colic in the Breastfed BabySponsored Links
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A baby who gets too much milk too quickly, may become very fussy, very irritable at the breast and may be considered “colicky”. Typically, the baby is gaining very well. Typically, also, the baby starts nursing, and after a few seconds or minutes, starts to cough, choke or struggle at the breast. He may come off, and often, the mother's milk will spray. After this, the baby frequently returns to the breast, but may be fussy and repeat the performance. He may be unhappy with the rapid flow, and impatient when the flow slows. This can be a very trying time for everyone. On rare occasions, a baby may even start refusing to take the breast after several weeks, typically around three months of age.
3. Foreign proteins in the mother's milk Sometimes, proteins present in the mother's diet may appear in her milk and may affect the baby. The most common of these is cow's milk protein. Other proteins have also been shown to be excreted into some mothers' milk. The fact that these proteins and other substances appear in the mother's milk is not usually a bad thing. Indeed, it is usually good, helping to desensitize your baby to these proteins. Ask about this if you have any questions. Thus, in the treatment of the colicky breastfed baby, one step would be for the mother to stop taking dairy products or other foods, but only one type of food at a time. Dairy products include milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream and anything else that may contain milk. When the milk protein has been changed (denatured), as in cooking for example, there should be no problem. Ask if you have any questions. If eliminating certain foods from the mother’s diet does not work, the mother can take pancreatic enzymes, starting with 1 capsule at each meal, to break down proteins in her intestines so that they cannot be absorbed into her body and appear in the milk. Please note: Intolerance to milk protein has nothing to do with lactose intolerance, a completely different issue. Also, a mother who is lactose intolerant herself should also still breastfeed her baby. Suggested method:
Be patient, the problem usually gets better no matter what. Formula is not the answer, but, because of the more regular flow, some babies do improve on it. But formula is not breastmilk. In fact, the baby would also improve on breastmilk from the bottle because of the regularity of the flow. Even if nothing works, time usually helps. The days and nights may seem eternal, but the weeks will fly by. For videos showing how to latch a baby on, how to know a baby is getting milk, how to use compression, go to www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html Questions? (416) 813-5757 (option 3) or drjacknewman@sympatico.ca or my book Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding ( called The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers in the USA) Handout #2 Colic in the Breastfed Baby. Revised January 2005 This handout may be copied and distributed without further permission, on the condition that it is not used in any context in which the WHO code on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes is violated. |
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