Are Probiotics Effective in Treating Colic and Gas in Babies?

If you are new parents, you must’ve heard about “colic” or “baby gripes”. Without a doubt, it is one of the challenges of parenthood that steal the most sleep from parents. If you find yourselves dealing with the phenomenon, you would be happy to hear that a new clinical trial found that the probiotic strain BB-12 (that is found in baby probiotics) can reduce the crying, as well as the number of crying bouts, and bring your baby and you much needed relief.

What is colic in babies?

Colic in babies is a digestive disorder that affects about a quarter of babies in the world during their first three months of life. It’s common mainly among babies around 6 weeks old. The phenomenon is characterized by severe stomach cramps, excessive crying, cramping, and clenched fists, and while it’s considered a transient problem, it’s the cause for significant distress for both babies and their parents. This phenomenon is one of the main reasons that parents seek medical advice during the first three months of their baby’s life. Colic has been found to be associated with post partum depression in many mothers, as well as early termination of breastfeeding, the shaken baby syndrome, medication use, baby formula changes, and long term side effects such as allergies, sleep and behavioral issues.

What causes colic?

Despite many years of research, as of today the medical reasons for colic in babies still remain unclear and are considered to have many causes. There are many hypotheses that remain without scientific proof, such as the swallowing of too much air, lactose and dairy intolerance, exposure to smoking, and many more. Yet, there’s much anecdotal evidence that point to the fact that changes in the baby’s gut flora can contribute to the increase of colic.

Baby’s intestines contain many different types of bacteria: good bacteria that help combat disease and maintain a healthy immune system, and bad bacteria that can cause illness. In the first years of the baby’s life, the combination of bacteria is still unstable and is susceptible to changes, and many times unwanted bacteria “take over” and prevent the growth of good bacteria. Under such conditions, the balance of good-to-bad bacteria is disrupted, and as a result we witness such phenomena as colic, gas, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and constipation.

How can we deal with colic?

Until recently, in order to deal with colic, parents were advised to use different methods the efficacy of which had never been proven. This type of advice included gently rocking the baby, laying the baby on one’s forearm like “a tiger sleeping on a tree”, massaging the baby’s stomach in circular motions, bouncing on an exercise ball, caressing the baby, etc. But your little one still keeps on crying and you can’t sleep, and there is a general feeling of helplessness to the entire situation. So, have you heard of baby probiotics yet?

Is there any scientific proof for the efficiency of baby probiotic in treating colic in babies?

As mentioned, there’s much evidence pointing to the fact that colic has to do with the imbalance of gut bacteria. In order to combat this and the negative side effects that result from such an imbalance, a number of probiotic bacteria strains have been found to be efficient in cases of colic. These strains appear in various supplements, and recently a new clinical study has brought the strain BB-12 to the forefront, for helping reduce and prevent colic in babies.

Probiotics for babies: Get to know the BB-12 bacterium

BB-12 is a probiotic bacterium that helps regulate the overall bacterial load in the gut, as well as the proper functioning of the immune system. This bacterium is known to be the first one to colonize babies’ intestines; its presence during the first year of the infant’s life has been found to have a positive effect on intestinal health in older age, and it may even contribute to the prevention of such digestive issues as celiac, lactose intolerance, IBS, and more.

Study Results*

The research examined 80 babies aged 7 weeks or less (all were breastfed) that suffered from chronic colic. The babies were divided into two equal groups, the experimental group that received 6 drops of baby probiotic BB-12, and a control group that received a placebo.

The results were indisputable:

• 80% of the babies in the experimental group showed a decrease of 50% in the duration of crying episodes!
• A significant decrease in the number of crying episodes per week has been observed.
• A positive effect on duration of sleep, frequency of bowl movements, and stool texture have been observed.

The researchers reached the unequivocal conclusion that BB-12’s effect is manifold; it has positive outcomes on gas, diarrhea, and infections, and that such effects can’t be extrapolated to other probiotic strains.

Have we found the miracle probiotic?

* Warning: you should always consult with a pediatrician before starting using a probiotic.