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) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna