Infantile colic and feeding

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Gastroenterology
• Nutrition

Background:

• Infantile colic is a common condition in newborns, causing significant distress to infants and parents.
• Dietary factors, particularly milk intake, are often investigated as potential contributors to colic.
• Lactase enzyme is crucial for lactose digestion; its deficiency can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of lactase treatment on infantile colic in breastfed and formula-fed infants.
• To compare the incidence, duration, and severity of colic between different milk preparations.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind crossover study was conducted with 10 infants diagnosed with infantile colic.
• Infants were fed breast milk and cow's milk formula, both untreated and treated with lactase.
• Daily colic presence, duration, and severity were recorded and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Colic was observed on 71% of breast milk days and 89% of cow's milk formula days.
• No statistically significant difference was found in the daily duration or severity of colic between the different milk preparations (breast milk vs. cow's milk formula, treated vs. untreated with lactase).

Conclusions:

• Lactase treatment of milk does not appear to be an effective intervention for reducing the symptoms of infantile colic.
• Both breast milk and cow's milk formula, regardless of lactase treatment, were associated with a high prevalence of colic symptoms.