Maternal and Other Factors in the Etiology of Infantile Colic

Significant colic developed in 23% of 146 normal newborns. Its incidence was unrelated to family economic class, maternal age, birth order, sex, weight gain, type of feeding, or family history of allergic or gastrointestinal disorder. Superior maternal intelligence and advanced maternal education seemed associated with a higher than average incidence of colic, possibly because of better maternal reporting or lower maternal tolerance. The occurrence of colic showed no relationship to maternal emotional factors, whether estimated clinically or measured by a standardized psychological test. Most mothers of infants with colic were stable, cheerful, and feminine. This evidence, and other evidence when critically reviewed, does not support the frequently stated view that colic results from an unfavorable emotional climate created by an inexperienced, anxious, hostile, or unmotherly mother. By so advising parents, physicians may relieve them of unwarranted self-blame and anxiety.