Review of Natural Treatments for Colic in Babies

End colic with natural options

"Researchers from the National Institute for Health Research at the University of Bristol and the University of Manchester reviewed published 'systematic reviews' on the use of [complementary and alternative medicine] therapies to treat babies with colic." Their findings indicate natural non-drug options could be helpful for children with colic.

The long nights of little sleep with a colicky baby can be difficult on babies and parents. Without helpful medical treatments, parents can be left distressed over what to do or where to go. Some try natural non-drug options like chiropractic or supplements. This study takes a closer look at the research that has been performed to determine how helpful these options are for colic.

The researchers noted evidence that probiotics, fennel extract, and chiropractic could be helpful for colic. There was not enough evidence at this time to recommend acupuncture or soy.

Dr. Rachel Perry, Senior Research Associate in the NIHR Bristol BRC's nutrition theme at the University of Bristol said, "Our review does show that some treatments -- probiotics, fennel extract and spinal manipulation -- do appear to help, though the studies that showed this weren't big enough or well-designed enough to be sure of the results. This is especially true for probiotics, where some of the findings from earlier, poor quality studies were rather oversold. But our findings do point to where future research efforts should be focused."

One of the benefits of trying a natural non-drug option is the low risk of harm. Chiropractic and other options may be helpful, and the risk of trying them is low so consider these options for your families health issues.

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