EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF COW S MILK AS A CAUSE OF INFANTILE COLIC IN BREAST FED INFANTS

Infantile colic is a common problem characterized by excessive crying and restlessness. Twenty nine percent of infants cry more than 3 hours a day during the first 3 to 4 months of life. Infantile colic has been reported in both breast-fed and formula-fed infants. There are several hypotheses for infantile colic. One of these hypothesis suggests that cow’s milk proteins may be responsible for infantile colic. In the present study‚ we examined the effect of elimination of cow’s milk and its products from the maternal diet on the exclusively breast fed infant with colic symptoms. Fifty infants with colic symptoms were studied for 7 days baseline period followed by 8 days of intervention period of strict elimination of milk and dairy products from maternal diets. Forty eight and forty four percent of infants showed an improvement in crying and restlessness respectively. Therefore‚ the strict elimination of milk and dairy products from the maternal diet may be an effective way to control colic symptoms in approximately 50% of exclusively breast fed infants.