Cry Baby
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Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., author of Colic Solved, demystifies colic, discusses revolutionary diagnostic and treatment options, and explains why colic is an "urban legend."
Also: Get advice from real moms who experienced colic.
Wondertime: The title of your book is Colic Solved. Those are pretty strong words. When you say you "solve" colic, what do you mean?
Initially, I started out to write a book that tells parents about gastroesophageal reflux and milk protein allergies. But it became evident that parents of kids who have GERD or milk protein allergy are very often perceived as having colic.
The "solved" part of it discusses the changes that have occurred over the past 50 years since colic was first described. What was once a mysterious condition can, in many cases, be explained.
Wondertime: I'm not sure how much you see this in your practice, but in my experience a lot of people still see colic as this mysterious condition. Is your impression that the word is getting out that colic can be explained?
I think the word is getting out that colic is a wastebasket term that's used when we can't explain what's going on inside a baby. I think pediatricians are zeroing in more and more on the fact that these babies do have treatable conditions.
Now, I think it's important to understand that not every baby who screams or fusses suffers with reflux or milk protein allergies, or a problem with elimination. There are babies who have temperament issues.
In the book, I discuss the "blob theory": the idea that parents tend to view their babies as little peaceful cherubs who should do nothing more than eat, sleep, poop, then be quiet.
The reality is that there are variations among temperament and personality among babies. Some are finicky and frisky. Others are irritable. Some don't like light or sound. Some get upset easily.
Wondertime: So when people use the word "colic," that's kind of a catchall.
Yes. In the vernacular, the word is a catchall term to describe any baby who's not at ease. From the technical, academic perspective, colic does have some very loose criteria. You know, The Rule of Three: crying for more than three hours a day, for three days, for more than three weeks.
This was what the original criteria were in 1954. But if you look at that, it's difficult — if your baby cries only two hours and 59 minutes, then technically he doesn't have colic. So you can see how the criteria, from a scientific or academic perspective, are very, very difficult to define.
Wondertime: The Rule of Three has been around for so long. Is there anything to it?
I have absolutely no idea why three hours was the number as opposed to four hours, or why three days was the number as opposed to two days or four days. Irritable is irritable.
Wondertime: Do you find that the Rule of Three is something that pediatricians still cite?
Not so much. But there are people who still refer to those original criteria. Academics do. In fact, there are still research papers published today that use the original criteria for defining a baby as having or not having colic. Which is inconceivable to me.
But in general, pediatricians don't apply those criteria. They use the term very, very loosely in any number of circumstances where babies have inexplicable fussiness.
In fact, many pediatricians use it as a crutch. To a certain extent, the term absolves them from any real responsibility for going further.
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