What is colic?

Also known as: baby colic, infantile colic.

While all babies cry, a baby who cries excessively for no apparent reason and cannot be soothed between the ages of 3 weeks and 3 months (worst at 6-8 weeks of age) and who cries for more than 3 hours per day, for more than 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks in a row is described as having colic. Mostly it disappears by 8-14 weeks of age. Colic is common (1 in 5 babies) and normal among some babies.

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Reviewed by: Richmond Darko, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM