Why Aren’t Probiotics Helping My Colicky Baby?
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Probiotics have been proven to be able to help some colicky babies. However, like any other supplement or medication, probiotics aren’t necessarily 100% effective at dealing with a problem like colic.
Part of the problem, and part of the reason that probiotics may not help your colicky baby, is that researchers aren’t exactly sure yet what it is that causes colic. There was a time when experts were fairly certain that colic was caused by gastrointestinal discomfort. Indeed, this would seem to be the case very often. It is also thought that colic may be caused by other factors as well, such as overstimulation or an underdeveloped nervous system. Still, many parents who have infants with colic have found help by treating the gastrointestinal tract one way or another.
Probiotics help the gastrointestinal tract in a number of ways. They aid in digestion. They help nutrients to be absorbed. They help to guard the gastrointestinal tract against a number of harmful substances and pathogens. Perhaps most importantly to your colicky baby, they help restore the balance of bacteria in your baby’s digestive system.
By restoring the balance in your baby’s digestive system, probiotics can help with colic. In fact, in scientific studies, colicky babies stopped crying as much. One study actually showed that colicky babies given the probiotic L. reuteri Protectis actually cried for as much as an hour and a half less than babies that were not given the probiotic.
On the other hand, if your colicky baby is upset not because of digestive issues but because of something else like overstimulation or an underdeveloped nervous system, probiotics aren’t going to be much help to you and to your baby.
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