How can I treat colic?

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Being a mum is hard enough, but when your baby goes through that stage of crying continuously like his heart is going to break, it can just about tip you over the edge. But how do you know it’s colic? “Colic is defined as crying that lasts for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, in a baby under 3 to 4 months,” says independent health visitor Nicola Joseph. It tends to happen more during the later part of the day too.

“A baby will cry frantically and may bring his knees up to his chest, clench his fists and arch his back,” says Nicola.

While experts agree on when colic happens, they remain divided as to exactly what causes it. Rapid feeding, too much air getting into your baby’s feed, wind and food intolerance are all mentioned. Joanna Cram, an osteopath and member of the British Osteopathic Association, has lots of experience in treating colic and says it could be down to your baby’s immature digestive system. “He can find it hard to break down the large enzymes in milk, which results in a spasm of the gut as the digestive nerves work overtime,” she says.

One thing’s for certain, until the day when an absolute cause is discovered, the only way to soothe your distraught colic-sufferer is by finding out what worked for mums who’ve been through it all before… and survived with their sanity intact. So, here are some tried and tested solutions.