Complications
Infantile colic may lead to parental stress, anxiety, fatigue, depression, anger, hostility, marital disharmony, domestic violence, guilt, feelings of helplessness, role ambivalence, and poor parent-child interaction.[21]
Parents should be reassured that the infant will outgrow the condition eventually and that the infant will continue to thrive.[32]
Some parents become so exhausted by the crying that they need a break from the infant. They should be encouraged to discuss their feelings and concerns with each other to achieve mutual emotional support.
Child abuse may result from parental stress, anger, hostility, and depression.
Parents need emotional support from each other as well as from other family members and friends.
At 12-month assessment, families of infants with severe infantile colic had more difficulties in communication, more unresolved conflicts, more dissatisfaction, and less empathy than families with noncolicky infants or infants with moderate colic.[53]
When these children were seen again at 3 years of age, the family dynamics seemed to have normalized.[54]
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