If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
In European countries and their offshoots, historically, the cause(s) of fussiness and crying was attributed to trapped gas (‘wind’) from anal narrowing, indigestion, or allergy to components in the mother’s diet that pass through her breast milk. The term “3-month colic” was popular because intense fuss/cry behavior lasts about 2-4 months. Many treatments have been recommended: Proper ways to burp your child, anti-gas agents, formula switching, mother’s dietary changes, probiotics, drugs, supplements, herbal teas, anal dilation, and mechanical devices to rock your baby. Notably, tragic infant deaths have occurred with some of these treatments. When this behavior spontaneously disappears after 2-4 months, many mothers falsely believe that the last treatment ‘worked’ and ‘cured’ her child. But if sleep problems later develop, the reliance on ‘treatments’ such as melatonin or mechanical rocking devices may continue. All European countries have similar terms for ‘infant colic’:
• Germany: Kolik
• France: Colique
• Italy: Coliche infantili
• Spain: Cólico infantil
• Netherlands: Baby koliekinuo
However, in Asian countries, this behavior is assumed to be a temporary stage of development. There are no terms that are exact equivalents to ‘infant colic’ but traditional celebrations are held after infant colic disappears, between after 2-4 months of age. The names for these celebrations are translated as:
• China: 100 days crying.
• Vietnam: 3 months+10 days crying.
• Korea: 100-day celebration (https://asiasociety.org/korea/baek-il-100th-day-celebration-korea).
• Japan: 100-day celebrations (https://japaniseme.com/okuizome/ and https://tinytotintokyo.com/baby-traditions-in-japan-omiyamairi-and-okuizome). From a Japanese pediatric sleep researcher: “Yonaki (night cry)” and “Tasigare-naki (evening-cry)” are colloquial Japanese and thus, they do not appear in scientific publications in English. “Yonaki” in Japan is midnight cry, and I think it’s different from colic, if the colic definition is “cry without medical reason for more than 3 hours per day, 3 days per week, lasting 3 weeks”. In Japan we have another word “Tasogare naki” (evening cry). This may be more similar to colic but is generally including ages older than 3-4 months. Even in traditional Japanese co-sleeping setting, some infants get startled and burst into crying (we call it yakyou = frightened at night).”
The bottom line is that we do not know why babies are especially fussy and cry more during the first few months of life. But we know that when it ends, around 2-4 months of age, parents can wean the baby off of the intense or continuous parental soothing so that they have more opportunities to learn self-soothing. The failure to make this transition will often lead to persisting sleep problems in the baby.
