Colic is one of the more frustrating things that a baby can have. While there are little or no long-term health effects of colic, having a baby with colic in the house can create a great amount of chaos and frustration for the rest of the family. Adding to the problem of colic is the fact that researchers aren’t entirely sure what it is that causes colic. In some cases, there is the possibility that breastfeeding can contribute to colic. This is not to say that babies who are formula fed aren’t sometimes colicky, or that breastfeeding causes colic on a wide scale. But, there are situations, such as when the mother’s breast milk contains proteins that the infant is sensitive to, where breastfeeding may contribute to colic. Fortunately, there are ways to go about reducing colic in breastfed infants.

Perhaps the most effective way to go about reducing colic in breastfed infants is actually one of the newest treatments for colic. In resent years, scientists have discovered the benefits of probiotics in reducing colic in breastfed infants. To understand how it is that probiotics help to reduce colic in breastfed infants, it is important to know a little bit about what probiotics are. Probiotics are, simply put, live beneficial bacteria. These are the same sorts of bacteria that typically inhabit the gastrointestinal system. These bacteria help the body in many ways. They help food to digest, they help a variety of nutrients to be absorbed, and they even help to boost the immune system.

In the case of a baby who is colicky because of an allergy or sensitivity to breast milk, probiotics may be able to help. By restoring the balance in your baby’s digestive system and by providing a barrier of sorts against antigens, toxins, and harmful bacteria, probiotics can help to reduce colic in breastfed infants. In fact, in scientific studies, colicky babies stopped crying as much. One study actually showed that colicky babies given the probiotic L. reuteri Protectis actually cried for as much as an hour and a half less than babies that were not given the probiotic.