Decoding your baby's cries: 7 common causes

Colic is when a newborn cries and fusses for many hours, especially babies aged 2 weeks to 3 months. It affects not only the baby's health but also their development. So how should parents deal with it? Let's find the answers with Momby in the following 7 main causes! Content reviewed by Specialist Doctor Level I Nguyen Thanh Duy - Founder of Care For Kids Paediatric Clinic.

• Baby is in pain: Causes of pain in babies include tummy ache, earache, mouth ulcers or skin irritation from rough nappies.
• Baby's clothes or nappy are too tight: Baby may be dressed or swaddled too tightly, causing discomfort, or a dirty nappy may irritate the skin… If not cleaned, this can cause pain and make baby cry from discomfort..
• Baby cries from not getting enough sleep: Wanting to sleep is also a reason babies fuss. So to make sure baby sleeps enough without fussing, let baby sleep in a well-ventilated place, on a soft bed that is neither too hot nor too cold. When babies get enough sleep they are happy and don't fuss.
• Baby is hungry: Newborns often need to feed constantly. The timing of feeds varies from baby to baby. Don't apply a fixed feeding schedule rigidly. A baby who fusses a lot at night may not have fed enough; you can check by offering a feed and seeing whether the fussing stops!
• Wind: Baby feeding until overfull and getting a windy tummy is also one of the causes of prolonged discomfort that baby expresses by crying.
• Changes in surroundings (cold, heat, location): Newborns' and young children's bodies are quite sensitive to temperature, especially cold wind or low temperatures. So a young child's resting space should be a closed room without cold draughts, with a heater or warm-light lamps to help baby feel more comfortable.
• Food allergies: The foods you eat every day directly affect the composition of your breast milk. However, as baby's digestive system is not yet fully developed, baby may be allergic to one of the proteins in breast milk, causing tummy pain, constipation or diarrhoea. So you need to adjust your diet accordingly to avoid this!

Understanding the causes will help parents adjust and deal with the situation promptly, and avoid it affecting mum and baby if it goes on for a long time.

Reference: Tu Du Hospital