Colics

Colics

For each infant trouble, Novalac offers an adapted nutritional solution.

Up to 73% of all infants are affected by colics in their first months of life1

The signs of colics are agitation, intense and frequent tears, baby’s fists getting tense and legs folding up on his belly. They are furthermore associated with frequent gas and flatus. Infants are inconsolable and seem to have abdominal pain.

Colics are paroxysms of irritability, fussing or crying that last up to 2/3 hours or more per day and that occur more than 3 days per week for at least 3 weeks2. These criteria are commonly referred to as “the rule of threes” (3 hours per day, 3 days per weeks for at least 3 weeks).

In the recent Rome IV definition of colic, any reference to precise time (duration of crying per day, time of occurrence of the symptoms…) has been omitted to keep only the idea of “recurrent and prolonged periods of crying that have no obvious cause and that [caregivers] cannot prevent or resolve3”.

The etiology of colics is not fully understood and several factors may contribute to their development (such as a stressful environment, diet…) Although colics are benign, they negatively impact the baby’s (and the family’s) quality of life and may have long term consequences by disturbing the interaction of the infant with his/her parents but also by causing him/her migraines, recurrent abdominal pain4, etc.

  1. Vandenplas Y., & al., Prevalence and Health Outcomes of Functional Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Infants From Birth to 12 Months of Age, JPGN 61,531-537 (2015).
  2. Sferra T.J.,  & Heitlinger L.A., Gastrointestinal Gas Formation and infantile colic, Pediatr Clin North Am  43(2): 489-509, (1996).
  3. Benninga M.A., Nurko S., Faure C., Hyman P., St James Robert I., Schechter N., Childhood Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Neonate/Toddler Gastroenterology 150:1443–1455 (2016).
  4. Steutel N.F., Benninga MA., Langendam MW., et al., Developing a coreoutcome set for infant colicfor primary, secondary andtertiary care settings: a prospective study. BMJ Open 7:e015418. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015418 (2017).

Clinical trials and studies

The efficacy of Novalac formulas is evidenced in published clinical trials. Amongst them are some of the largest studies ever performed to date on anti-regurgitation formulas, extensively hydrolyzed formulas, and elemental (amino-acid) formulas.

2011

Biochemical evidence

Dietary treatment of colic caused by excess gas in infants: biochemical evidence

World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2011, 17(16):2063-2160

Infante Pina D, Segarra O, Le Luyer B

The aim is to evaluate the impact of feeding colicky infants with an adapted formula on the hydrogen breath test and clinical symptoms.

2008

Prevalence of GI disorders – Efficacy in management

Prevalence and dietetic management of mild gastrointestinal disorders in milk-fed infants

World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2008, 14(2):248-54

Infante Pina D, Badia Llach X, Ariño-Armengol B, Villegas Iglesias V

The aim is to assess the prevalence of mild gastrointestinal disorders in milk-fed infants in paediatric practice, and to evaluate the effectiveness and satisfaction with dietetic treatment.