Fussy Babies Research Articles

Are fussier babies fed non‐milk liquids and solids earlier than less fussy babies? Results from the Infant Care, Feeding, and Risk of Obesity Study.

Studies have shown how feeding can be used as a strategy to calm or pacify infants. Fussiness among infants was associated with increased carbohydrate but not fat intake suggesting that foods with high sugar content may be given to pacify infants. This paper examines the relationship between mother’s perception of infant temperament and feeding behavior at 3 months among low income African Americans (n=132). The Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire was used to measure different temperament dimensions. Logistic analysis indicated that fussier infants were twice more likely to be fed solids and non-milk liquids at 3 months (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.04 [95% CI: 1.017, 4.084]). Similarly, fussier infants were also about twice as likely to be given cereal in the bottle within the first 3 months, even when controlling for possible confounders such as problems with reflux (OR 1.89 [95% CI: 1.003, 3.527]). These feeding behaviors are inconsistent with current feeding recommendations and may be associated with poor self-regulation of diet and risk of infant overweight. In this sample of 3 month old infants, a significant positive association was found between feeding cereal in the bottle and infant overweight. Early introduction of foods, particularly the practice of adding cereal in the bottle to thicken the milk, is a cultural norm associated with African American mothers and grandmothers. These findings indicate that maternal perception of infant fussiness may motivate an inappropriate feeding practice. Funding source: National Institutes of Health/NICHD

Pediatric Sleep Medicine Comes of Age

AMELIA ISLAND,FLA—A fussy baby fails to grow normally. A 7-year-old who has autism goes to sleep at 9 PM but awakens for thedayat2 AM.A9-year-oldcannotsit still inclassandseldomcompletes homework.A17-year-oldhonorstudent attendsbandpractice, staysuplate to finishhomework, anddrives through a red lightonthewaytoschool thenextmorning, clipping a delivery van. One in 4 children and adolescents has a problem with sleep that warrants a physician’s attention, specialists in pediatric sleep medicine say. Yet such problems often go unrecognized. Children who sleep too little or sleep poorly are more apt to be inattentive and hyperactive—tired and wired—than overtly drowsy. At a recent meeting here sponsored by Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, pediatric sleep specialists discussed ways to boost practitioner and public awareness of such symptoms and sought to define priorities for basic and clinical research, patient care, and public policy for their young field. The 130 attendees included pediatricians, pulmonologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists, as well as psychologists, social workers, and nurses.

Handbook of Japanese mythology

An introductory guide to the mythology of Japan-one of the most pervasive yet least understood facets of Japanese culture. Handbook of Japanese Mythology makes it easy to travel this vast yet little-known mythological landscape. The book reveals the origins of Japan's myths in the very different realms of Buddhism, Shinto, and folklore, and explores related mythologies of the Ainu and Okinawan cultures and recent myths arising from Japan's encounters with modernization. It then offers vivid retellings of the central Shinto and Buddhist myths, plus descriptions of major historical figures, icons, rituals, and events. For students or long-time enthusiasts, it is the ideal guide for investigating Japanese reverence for the sun, the imperial family, and the virtues of purity and loyalty. Readers will also learn why sumo wrestlers stomp before each match, how a fussy baby creates thunder, why Japan has a god for soccer, and much more. An extensive glossary of all Japanese terms used in the text, as well as important concepts and historical features An annotated bibliography citing every print and nonprint source for the book, pointing the way toward further research

Breastfeeding Update 2: Clinical Lactation Management

Breastfeeding Update 2: Clinical Lactation Management

Fussy Babies: To Treat or Not to Treat?

In this prospective study, the developmental outcomes of 39 infants with high irritability and sensory processing problems, also described as regulatory disordered, were examined at 7–30 months and at 3 years using clinical interdisciplinary assessment. Infants with regulatory disorders were defined as being behaviourally difficult with disturbances in sleep, feeding, state control, self-calming, mood regulation and sensory processing. The performance of samples of infants with regulatory disorders, 13 untreated and 26 treated, and 11 normal children were compared at 3 years. All subjects in the clinical sample were offered 12 weeks of Intervention after the initial assessment to address regulatory problems. Of the 39 subjects, 26 chose treatment, thus resulting in a self-selected treated sample. Post hoc analysis revealed that, at 7–30 months, untreated subjects had more sleep problems and were more irritable whereas treated subjects had more feeding problems and their mothers reported feeling depressed. At 3 years, the children with regulatory disorders differed from their normal counterparts in sensory integration, mood regulation, attention, motor control, sleep and behavioural control. Untreated subjects showed more emotional and behavioural problems than treated subjects. Treated subjects had more motor and sensory integrative problems than untreated subjects but, despite the fact that they had more constitutional problems, they did not show the emotional and behavioural problems that were found in the untreated group. The clinical importance of these findings for occupational therapists is discussed.

Persistent crying and parenting: Search for a butterfly in a dynamic system

AbstractThe risks and causes of persistent crying in early infancy are discussed on the basis of a study of 61 infants referred to the Munich Interdisciplinary Research and Intervention Program for Fussy Babies for persistent crying between 1 and 6 months of age, and of a community sample of 51 infants of the same age. Particular attention was paid to pre‐verbal parent‐infant communication, the development of which was interpreted in terms of a dynamic interactional system including both regulatory and communicative predispositions in infants and intuitive competence for supporting infant predispositions in parents. Neither a gut problem nor any other single causal factor was identified for persistent crying in the majority of cases. In contrast, persistent crying was significantly associated with multiple biological and psychosocial risk factors for both parents and infants. Neurological immaturity, difficult temperament and sleep problems in infants, and impaired psychological conditions, limited resources and failures of intuitive competences in mothers were found to threaten the developmental process in infants and give rise to ‘vicious circles’ which were destabilizing the interactional systems. Increased attention to intuitive parental competences is recommended as one effective model for therapeutic interventions.

Mothers’ Attachment to Infants: Relations with Infant Temperament, Stress, and Responsive Maternal Behavior

According to attachment theory, mothers’ internal effective responses to their infant would predict their responsive behavior. Moreover, following the transactional model, maternal stress and infant temperament could affect both maternal feelings and behaviors. In this study, 38 mothers completed attachment, stress, and infant temperament questionnaires, and were observed interacting with their infants, when the infants were six weeks and nine months old. Maternal feelings of attachment were unrelated to their responsive behaviors. More severely stressed mothers felt less attached at six weeks, but stress did not affect maternal behaviors. Fussy babies had less attached mothers: the effect of temperatment on responsive behaviour was more complex. Mothers of fussier babies were less responsive. Mothers also reported feeling more attached to boys. Discussion centered on the buffering of maternal responsive behavior, development of maternal attachment, and the need to examine maternal attachment and responsiveness separately.

Can Fussy Babies Be Spoiled?

In Reply.— Dr Jones is of course correct that, in the literal sense, colic means abdominal pain. However, in my article1 the term is used in the clinical sense to refer to a medical syndrome of excessive crying of unknown cause beginning in otherwise healthy infants less than 3 months of age. Implicit in this definition of the syndrome is that the infants have no obvious gastroenterologic symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting, as was true of all the infants in the study.

Can Fussy Babies Be Spoiled?

To the Editor.— I was disturbed by several aspects of the article by Dr Taubman1 on colic among infants in his practice. I have been in pediatric practice more than 50 years and, therefore, have had my share of babies to test my skill and patience. It is my understanding that colic means abdominal pain and not just fussiness without a demonstrable cause. And there certainly are a number of causes of colic that can be diagnosed by appropriate studies and a thorough clinical examination.

胎内音に対する新生児聴覚反応の経時的変化

Intra-uterine sound (IUS) to newborns reportedly soothes the fussy babies. This study investigated the auditory responses of 15 neonates to IUS during the first three months of their life.All of them were soothed within a week by IUS at a level of 90dB SPL, and in the first month at 65dB to 80dB SPL. Within the first month, the minimum responsive level decreased in 10 to 25dB SPL, and the latencies were reduced in 14 babies, because of the development of their auditory function.Six crying babies (40%), in the second month, became alert and inactive in response to IUS. In the third month, there were no positive responses for 15 babies. After the second month, the soothing effect decreased, as their memory to IUS seemed to be disappearing.The finding indicated that IUS can be used for screening infants within the first month of their life for severe hearing impairment.