The cranial rhythmic impulse and excessive crying of infancy

Area of Science:

• Osteopathic manipulative medicine
• Pediatric health
• Infant development

Background:

• Osteopathic physicians propose that birth trauma can cause cranial dysfunction.
• Cranial dysfunction may manifest as excessive infant crying.
• Cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI) is a diagnostic indicator of cranial function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between abnormal CRI and excessive infant crying.
• To determine if CRI assessment can predict or identify infants prone to excessive crying.

Main Methods:

• Full-term infants were assessed for CRI by osteopathic physicians.
• CRI was measured at birth and at 2 weeks postpartum.
• Infant crying was evaluated at 6 weeks using the modified Ames Cry Score, with caretakers interviewed about stress, remedies, and diet.

Main Results:

• Excessive crying occurred in 41.7% of infants.
• An abnormal CRI at 2 weeks, but not at birth, was significantly associated with excessive crying (p < 0.001).
• Infants with abnormal CRI at 2 weeks were 6.8 times more likely to experience excessive crying. Infant diet was also independently associated with crying.

Conclusions:

• Abnormal CRI at 2 weeks of age is a potential indicator for excessive infant crying.
• Further research may validate CRI as a predictive tool for infant fussiness.