Probiotic can halve crying time, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute study finds

IT is the heartbreaking and anxiety-provoking bane of new parents; an inconsolable baby. But Melbourne researchers have found evidence of something that can increase the chance of relief from colic.

New Melbourne research has found that a probiotic supplement given to breastfed newborns can increase the chance of relief from colic. Picture: Sarah Matray

IT is the heartbreaking and anxiety-provoking bane of new parents: an inconsolable baby.

But new Melbourne research has found that a probiotic supplement given to breastfed newborns can increase the chance of relief from colic and reduce crying by 15 minutes a day after three weeks of use.

Colic is defined as unexplained and excessive crying or fussing for more than three hours a day at least three days a week, and is suffered by one in five babies.

GOAT INFANT MILK FORMULA SALES ON RISE IN AUSTRALIA

MUM ADMITS TO ‘HONESTLY HATING’ HER THIRD CHILD

Kim Hutchinson with three-month-old daughter Celia, who has colic and cannot be settled most afternoons and nights. Picture: David Caird

It is linked to shaken baby syndrome, maternal depression, child abuse and early abandoning of breastfeeding.

A plethora of products are on the market, but until now scientific evidence about their effectiveness has been scarce.

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Dr Valerie Sung led a collaboration of 11 international institutions that compared the use of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri to a placebo, in almost 350 newborns across four major trials.

While previous smaller studies over the past decade had shown mixed results about the effects of these oral drops, Dr Sung said the power of pooling results allowed the study to be more definitive about the effects.

The findings give hope to mothers like Kim Hutchinson, who struggles to settle three-month-old daughter Celia most nights. Picture: David Caird

While both groups reduced crying over three weeks, the probiotic was twice as likely to halve daily crying time than the placebo. The effects were significant even after one week of treatment.

“A little bit of difference makes a lot of difference. In real life even crying for three minutes is a lot,’ Dr Sung said.

“No-one really know why colic occurs, but we know that probiotics change microbiota and the organisms in the gut.

“This is not a cure-all, but it’s something safe to try and better than using ­non-evidence based medications.”

The findings, published today in the journal Pediatrics, are not applicable for formula-fed infants because of a lack of studies.

Three-month-old daughter Celia has colic and cannot be settled most afternoons and nights. Picture: David Caird

Kim Hutchinson, a mother of two, runs through a mental checklist when the witching hour hits each day, as she tries to soothe her inconsolable three-month-old daughter Celia.

“Is she clean? Is she fed? Is there something else wrong with her? Is it something in my breastmilk?

“All you can do is hold them while they cry and cry and cry,” Ms Hutchinson said.

“The general advice is they will grow out of colic, and you just have to go through it. This research is hopeful because this is something that is safe and may help them get through those first few difficult months.”

[e-mail]