Unexplained crying, shrill cries, red face: even if breastfed, babies can suffer from infant colic. These stomach aches often worry parents even though they remain benign. With simple soothing gestures and by controlling the feeding, it is possible to calm your child. Find out how to relieve colic in breastfed babies.

Infant colic affects about 20% of babies under 3 months old. Whether or not the baby is breastfed, they can suffer from these stomach aches and express themselves through shrill cries. This phenomenon can surprise and worry parents who did not think that their breastfed baby could suffer from colic. In reality, these colic in breastfed babies are common and completely benign.

Infants with colic are generally less than 3 months old, but these digestive problems can sometimes last up to 5 months. Infant colic most often begins 8 to 15 days after birth.

Unexplained, piercing and violent cries, often occurring at the end of meals in a healthy child, can last several hours; they are frequently accompanied by burping and intestinal gas. Baby is bloated: gas contained in the intestine causes abdominal pain.

Baby cries more readily in the late afternoon or evening, his face is red and he seems to have stomach pain, wriggles or moves his legs in all directions. Read our article Baby's cries: is it possible to decipher them?

Colic usually disappears spontaneously at the end of the 3rd month of life. In all cases, it will have disappeared by the 6th month.

When faced with such symptoms, always seek the advice of a healthcare professional.

Most of the time, no cause is found for infant colic. Although no hypothesis has been formally demonstrated, some have been put forward:

Baby's digestive system is still immature at this age and researchers assume that the digestion of certain sugars is more difficult. Lactose, a sugar contained in breast milk (particularly rich in lactose at the start of breastfeeding), is often incriminated since it is the main or even exclusive sugar in baby's diet. The enzyme (lactase) that allows it to be digested can be produced in too small a quantity in the intestine. Too much lactose can also exceed the enzyme's digestion capacity. Lactose then undergoes fermentation and gas production results: bloating causes abdominal pain.

Although breastfed babies swallow less air than bottle-fed babies, some children may have poor swallowing coordination after sucking, while managing breathing. This phenomenon is also observed when the mother has a very strong milk ejection reflex. Thus, when suckling, the baby can swallow too much air, which causes bloating (aerophagia).

The exaggeration of mild stomach aches is badly experienced by babies. The daily crying of babies increases from 1 hour 45 minutes on average at 2 weeks of age, to 2 hours 45 minutes on average at 6 weeks of age, then gradually decreases. In infants, this crying is concentrated during their waking periods, particularly in the late afternoon and evening, when colic occurs, which could intensify the crying.

There are less common causes of infant colic such as lactose intolerance and cow's milk protein allergy. These require medical management and regular pediatric monitoring.

It is best to breastfeed in a calm atmosphere, ideal for the mother-child relationship. During feeding, be careful that baby does not swallow too much air, which promotes bloating. It is important that your child takes your breast in his mouth.

As the feeding progresses, breast milk changes: its composition becomes fattier as the infant drains milk from his mother's breast. If mother changes breasts during feeding before baby has time to finish the first breast, he consumes less energy and asks to drink more often. Faced with this milk ingested more frequently and less fat, baby's stomach empties more quickly and a large quantity of lactose (milk sugar) arrives in the intestine. It is then more difficult for baby to digest properly! As long as your baby is sucking and swallowing milk, continue to offer the first breast until he lets go or falls asleep. If he is still hungry, you can offer the second. At the next feeding, start with the other breast to alternate.

If he tends to swallow air, after feeding, be careful that your child burps several times to get rid of the ingested air. You can gently pat his upper back to facilitate burping.

To soothe baby after breastfeeding, small, simple actions can sometimes restore calm simply:

Adopt a caring attitude, you can swing baby in your arms against you, offer him a walk in a baby carrier or stroller, sing him a soft song or play soft music…

A gentle abdominal massage allows intestinal gas to progress in the colon and reduce spasms. Without pressing too hard, make a circular motion in a clockwise direction on baby's stomach.

Applying a warm hot water bottle to baby's stomach, suitable for infants, is a solution to relieve pain. Do not apply it directly to the infant's skin.

Swaddling reassures baby and reduces colic pain. This technique, which consists of wrapping him in a sheet or blanket with his arms at his sides, provides relaxing warmth to the infant.

On the advice of a healthcare professional, it is possible to try certain homeopathic strains.

If your baby suffers from infant colic, there is no point in stopping breastfeeding without medical advice. If your doctor deems it necessary to introduce infant milk, or if the mother no longer wishes or can no longer breastfeed her baby, the transition between breast milk and infant milk must then be very gradual.

There are specific anti-colic milks with a reduced lactose content. They are only effective if the colic comes from a lack of lactase in the child, the enzyme capable of digesting lactose.

Always seek advice from a healthcare professional.