It’s certainly been my experience as a Pediatrician that maternal depression highly correlates with infant irritability. A recent study published in Acta Paediatrica, “Infantile colic, prolonged crying and maternal postnatal depression” provides evidence supporting that association. To read this abstract, you can click here now.

I often wonder which comes first?

Does prolonged infant crying result in maternal postnatal depression? Could a mother’s low mood affect the temperament her baby? My view is that there is an interplay between the two. This research does conclude that “Both infantile colic and prolonged crying were associated with high maternal depression scores.” It is also true that depressed parents perceive their baby’s irritability more sensitively and intensively.

Correlation certainly does not mean causation, but in clinical practice I find that the best outcome is achieved by managing both the depression and the infant crying. Postnatal depression can be managed with:

• early recognition and diagnosis (even in the 21st century, postnatal depression may remain undiagnosed)
• practical and emotional support
• good nutrition, sleep, exercise and fresh air
• psychotherapy
• group meetings with other parents and a health professional expert
• antidepressant medication

Excessive infant irritability (crying for at least 3 hours a day, for at least 3 days a week and for at least 3 weeks) requires:

• a thorough health assessment by an infant nurse or doctor
• checking for an possible underlying physical disorder such as a urinary tract infection, inadequate nutritional intake and protein allergy
• using a variety of simple settling strategies such as SMS your baby (Sounds, Movement, Swaddling)

The good news is that both prolonged infant crying and postnatal depression are manageable. Both will improve with treatment, simple settling strategies and time.

PND and infant irritability are both common issues and remember:

• they are not your fault…you’ve done nothing wrong, and
• you are not alone.

While babies cannot talk, when it comes to their most important requirements – the need for food, comfort and lots of sleep - they can communicate very clearly!

Ask any parent and they will tell you their new baby was soon able to tell them what they needed and when! Even the very youngest of babies can communicate when they are tired and need to sleep. And, no, it’s not necessarily through crying.

Most babies give quite clear signs and signals that they are tired. For new parents, recognising your baby’s tired signs is an important skill that will help you get your baby off to sleep with little fussiness.

Common signs young babies are tired include:

·         Changing facial expressions – relaxed to grimacing

·         Frowning and looking unhappy

·         Looking away from you or staring into space

·         Rigid, Jerky or tense arm, hand and leg movements

·         Fists clenched

·         Rubbing eyes and ears

·         Yawning

·         Crying, fussing, being unsettled – this is a late cue! Sometimes too late…

Early tired signs may be subtle and easy to miss. Certainly not as obvious as being completed unsettled, fussing or crying, crying, crying! Watching your baby and understanding their tired signs will help you know when it is best (and easiest) to put them to bed.

For babies, being tired and needing sleep is not just about the length of time they have been awake, so the signals that your baby gives you are a helpful and reliable cue that sleep is near! Observe your baby, trust your own knowledge and read the signs your baby is giving you.

When your baby shows some, or all, of the tired signs listed, it is sleep time! Some babies settle best when put to sleep at the first sign of being tired (such as staring into space) while others will need to be a little more tired before they are ready for bedtime. Trust yourself that you will learn and know your baby’s tired signs best.

Both you and your baby will be pleased that when they have ‘spoken’ about their tiredness, you have listened!

Baby with colic? High needs baby, crying baby, unsettled baby? Fussy baby? How do I soothe my crying baby? Baby not sleeping, helping my baby sleep, sleep deprived parents…

I could go on, but really it does not matter. Regardless of what label you put on it, or how you shape the question, this issue is the same. A fussy, crying baby is extremely common and for parents, this is hard, hard, hard.

Infact, infant irritability (excessive crying, colic, being unsettled) and sleep problems (difficulty settling, will not sleep, short sleeps) are two of the most common issues for which parents seek advice from their health professional. Almost all babies will have unsettled behavior at some stage and this presents an exhausting challenge for parents. Even so called ‘good sleepers’ will have fussy times. It’s true that if you are a parent pacing the floor with a crying baby, you are definitely not alone!

So how can we help? What do parents of fussy babies need? As a Pediatrician and father of four children all of whom cried alot as babies, I believe parents need uplifting reassurance as well as expert information. When it comes to matters of unsettled babies, there is much to be said and a wealth of useful (and not so useful) information to be sought. In fact, sometimes there is too much information! Complicated, contradictory and judgmental information. And so I have set myself a challenge…

To blog as many issues to do with sleeping, crying and fussiness as I can think of! Simple, clear, credible and relevant blogs just for parents. Here’s my list so far (but please let me know what you want to know):

·         Crying and colic (the causes of crying; controlled crying; myths about fussiness; excessive crying; managing colic…)

·         Settling issues (settling and burping; safe sleeping)

·         Sleep solutions (using a dummy or pacifier; crying babies and medication; settling a baby with sound, white noise, lullabies; swaddling a fussy baby)

·         Baby sleep information (your baby’s tired signs; baby sleep patterns; sleeping through the night; how much sleep is needed?)

·         Help for tired parents (crying and parental guilt; reassurance; parents intuition)

How’s that for a start? Pretty good, I think! Parents of fussy babies, watch this space for Dr Harry’s Crying Baby Chronicles!