Hi Everyone,
I have a bottle of gripe water in front of me (I am British). The ingredients
are: Sodium Bicarbonate 1.0% w/v, dill oil, caraway oil, sucrose. The dosage for
a baby over 1 month of age is 5mls, a maximum of 6 doses in 24 hours. It can
also be used by pregnant women with wind problems, but I think they'd need to
take the whole bottle! :-)

I definitely think it is mainly a placebo effect (for the mother) - you feel you
are at least doing *something* for your poor baby's distress. Also, they tend to
burp within seconds of taking it and it *sounds* like they have cleared the wind
for their tummies. Whether or not it really works, I do not know. My own
experience is that it does and it seems pretty harmless, but after a few hours
screaming you'd try *anything* (short of poison) :-(

I wondered about the idea of the mother taking an antacid, plus some dill and
caraway oil? Would that have any effect? I understand it can be mixed with
formula, so this seemed a logical way to "mix" it with breastmilk. Just a
thought...
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
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You were hungry and I was sorry.
You were thirsty, and I blamed the world.
You were a stranger, and I pointed you out.
You were naked, and I turned you in.
You were sick, and I said a prayer.
You were in prison, and I wrote a poem.                         STEVE TURNER
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Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna