Crying, Colic, Fussy Baby Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

There is scientific research that says that breastfeeding duration shortens when parents experience their baby as a baby who cries a lot. There are all kinds of medical reasons why a baby is crying. Crying is a way of communication for a baby. It's a cry for help.

But what if there are no obvious medical reasons for a baby's crying behavior? This lecture explains sociological and anthropological factors that can influence crying behavior in babies.

Sometimes parents have false expectations about parenting and baby behavior. Sometimes cultural assumptions make parents believe they have a crying baby when they actually haven't. And some cultural or anthropological parameters can strengthen the crying behaviour in a baby. Learn more about normal newborn crying behaviour and how to help parents understand their newborn.

This session will focus on common concerns regarding infant digestive health and useful support strategies that care providers can incorporate into their work with families. We will discuss what's normal and what's not in regard to stooling, spit up/reflux, colic/fussiness, food sensitivities, and more. Many parents are coping with babies that are uncomfortable and unhappy due to digestive health concerns. Dealing with a fussy, uncomfortable baby is emotionally and physically draining. Having a basic understanding of infant gut health and care strategies can be useful tools for any type of practitioner working with infants.

Interoception is a term used to describe our nervous system's awareness of the sensations from the gastrointestinal and visceral system, as well as the primary sensory part/input to baby's Autonomic Nervous System. ANS function and regulation underlay all automatic processes of the body, from heart beat to breastfeeding and digestion function, as well as maintaining a calm state in order to engage in social interaction or to transition easily in and out of sleep. More simply put, interoception is "feelings from the body". In addition to visceral information, interoceptive pathways carry information related to affective touch, itch, temperature and pain and are delivered to a separate area of the brain, the insular cortex, which also contains a map of the body, similar to the well known homunculus. Interception plays a large role in dynamic equilibrium and autonomic regulation of tissues of the body. Interoceptive information and the processing is the basis of all important activity to optimize energy utilization. This system is often compromised in babies who present with complex oral dysfunction, tethered oral tissues, postural asymmetries, fussiness, gas, reflux or other dysregulation in function. How babies feel is mirrored in how they function, compromised function equals compromised interoceptive processing. This talk covers the basics of this system and practical clinical applications for precrawling babies to optimize neurodevelopment and breastfeeding abilities.

The Crying Curve is an evidence-based pattern of crying that begins at about 42 weeks of gestation (2 weeks of extrauterine life), peaks at 6-8 weeks of age, and sharply declines by 12-15 weeks. As many as 15 different studies have concluded that this pattern is common across infants of all cultures, gestational ages (based on a 40-week gestation), and parenting styles—and the applications are many in the early parenting world. How can parents use this pattern to help them navigate breastfeeding? How can they gather their support people, family or village to maximize positive relationships and get the support they crave? How can they utilize it to help assess their newborn and understand what is needed for their specific situation? How much crying is too much crying? Lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, and other postpartum professionals who possess this information are well positioned to help to educate parents on how to best approach their postpartum recovery period, as well as navigate the ups and downs of breastfeeding and early newborn sleep. This session will aim to explain and apply the Crying Curve in multiple ways to support and guide the newborn family.

In this talk Anna Le Grange explores the causes of anxiety in parents, reasons why babies might exhibit unsettled behavior, and the links between parents with anxiety and unsettled babies. Drawing on recent studies, she shares the latest insights on the correlation between anxiety, infant fussiness and breastfeeding outcomes. Next Anna will describe the autonomic nervous system in parents and babies and how anxiety and infant fussiness may impact both members of the dyad. In the second half of this talk Anna discusses the practical steps that lactation supporters can take when working with babies and their parents to encourage a more calm and connected feeding experience.