why do babies cry

Why do babies cry? This is usually an important question, especially with a first baby. Crying in an infant does not have the same meaning as it does in an older child. It is the baby’s main form of communication and has many meanings, not just pain or sadness. As babies grow older, crying is much less a problem because older babies cry less and parents know what to expect and worry less.

But in the first weeks its hard to find out why do babies cry and baffling questions pop into your mind: Is she hungry? Is she wet? Is she uncomfortable? Is she sick? Does she have indigestion? Is she lonely? Parents are not apt to think of fatigue, but it’s one of the commonest causes.

It is fairly easy to answer the question why do babies cry, but a lot of fretting and crying can’t be so readily explained. In fact, by the time they are a couple of weeks old, almost all babies—especially first babies—get into fretful periods that we can give names to but can’t explain exactly. When the crying is regularly limited to one period in the evening or afternoon, we can call it colic. Colic sometimes goes along with distension of the abdomen and the passing of gas. If the baby is fussing off and on any old time of the day or night, we can sigh and say that at this stage she is just a fretful baby. If she’s unusually tense and jumpy, some use the term hypertonic baby (different from the “hyperactive” label that is often used for older children).

Fussy or inconsolable crying occurs in otherwise healthy babies all over the world during the first three months. It usually increases over the first six weeks or so, then gradually decreases. Compared with the babies in the United States, babies from less industrialized countries typically have shorter fussing bouts, but they still fuss. The period between birth and about three months is one of the adjustment of the baby’s immature nervous and digestive systems to life in the outside world. A smooth adjustment is harder for some babies to achieve than others.

Few things are more upsetting to a parent than a little baby who cries and cannot be comforted. So it’s important to remember that excessive crying in the early weeks is usually temporary, not a sign of anything serious. If you’re concerned (and who wouldn’t be?), have the doctor carefully examine your baby, more than once if need be, and reassure you. The other key thing to remember—and it bears repeating—is that it is never safe to shake a baby to make the fussing stop.

Now we know why do babies cry!