Cindi Swisher wrote:
>>I agree with those who state that we need to be aware of altering the
baby's intestinal flora; however, what do Zantac and Reglan and
Simethecone do to these baby's systems?  What about Tylenol?
>>I agree with the point another poster made that if a mother is
throwing in the towel because her baby is so fussy I'll consider
something like this.

Primum non nocere - above all do no harm.  Suggesting to a mother that
her crying child is in pain, ill or needing of medicine is damaging to
her confidence and just plain WRONG!

Sure babies can fuss with feeding or gas (an overactive gastro-colic
reflex).  But, once you rule out lactation oversupply and undersupply,
the chance of there being a medical problem warranting the
administration of medicine to the baby (or diet change) is only about
2-3%!

Some babies may improve with gripe water...but there is a large placebo
effect. For example, double blind studies with Simethicone show more
than 35% of parents claim to notice improvement.  This may sound like a
lot, however, it is less than the number of the control group parents
who reported substantial improvement when they gave their fussy babies
placebo (drops of water)!

Young infant's cry NOT because of gas pain. If a mom is feeling like
"throwing in the towel" (or hopefully long before that) LCs can teach
her about the baby's need for a "4th trimester" and help her learn how
to turn on the baby's calming reflex. This will help the mom calm her
fussy baby quickly, and feel better about herself as a parent, without
giving her medicines (be it gripe water, burp drops, reflux medicine or
tylenol) and having her think her baby is ill.

Harvey Karp, MD
UCLA School of Medicine

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