Researchers have found that a daily dose of probiotics — "good" or helpful bacteria — may help colicky babies cry less.
After three weeks of treatment with probiotic bacteria, babies cried for an average of about a half-hour a day — down from five or six hours a day at the studies’ outset. Infants who received a placebo, on the other hand, were still crying for an hour and a half daily after the same amount of time.
Reuters reports:
“The cause of colic, traditionally defined as inconsolable crying for at least three hours a day ... isn't clear ... Causes ... may include social and psychological factors, as well as allergies to certain foods ... [R]ecent research suggests that babies with colic have an abnormal balance of bacteria in their guts.”