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The objective of this study is to determine whether advice in parenting magazines reflects current evidence-based understanding of early infant crying and colic, where (1) "colic" is the upper end of a spectrum of crying behavior reflective of normal infant development, and (2) physical abuse--in particular, shaken baby syndrome (SBS)--is a serious medical consequence of early crying. All available issues of 11 popular Canadian parenting magazines published between January 2000 and December 2004 were hand-searched and systematically reviewed. Fifty-one articles were found with information on: (1) causes of, (2) responses to, and/or (3) mention of SBS or abuse as a consequence of crying and/or colic. There were 105 specific causes suggested, but almost no agreement concerning the causes of crying and colic. Similarly, there were 231 specific responses to crying and colic mentioned, but little agreement among the suggested responses. For both crying and colic together, the consequence of abuse was mentioned only 7 times, and SBS only twice. Making the advice literature a truly helpful vehicle for parents concerning normal behavioral development and its consequences for their new infant seems to be a significant challenge. Arguably, this is an important shared responsibility of physicians, researchers, and journalists.

In this population-based study the colic incidence was 9.4%, according to telephone interviews with the parents made when the infants were 5 weeks of age (n = 1628), and parental concern about infant crying was common. However, 7-day diaries of colicky and control infants (n = 116 + 119) revealed low distress amounts in colicky infants in general. In the subgroup of Wessel-colicky infants (n = 37), distress episodes were frequent and long lasting, and there was a high proportion of colicky crying versus fussing and normal crying. Even if there may be a reduction in the infantile colic incidence and support for the hypothesis that infantile colic is at least partially "in the eye of the beholder," that is, the concerned parent, a subgroup of infants may be more "genuinely colicky." Women who had stated in late-pregnancy interviews that there is a risk of spoiling an infant with too much physical contact were more likely to have infants with colic, and their infants were more distressed, even when given the same amount of physical contact. This finding warrants further elucidation.

Some of the most interesting cases in pediatric practice evolve through time. What may begin as a clear, well defined problem with a predictable natural history and an accepted intervention strategy may develop into a more complex, multi-faceted set of problems. It is these children who potentially provide clinicians with new insights into behaviors. This case of a colicky infant illustrates the wide spectrum of behavioral and physiological symptoms that emerge from a specific underlying behavioral phenomenon. It also emphasizes the significant benefit derived from a longitudinal perspective of developmental events.

Infantile colic causes stress to many families during the first weeks of an infant's life. In our previous studies, we found that families with severely colicky infants had more problems in their daily functioning than did families without colicky infants and that the affective state in these families was anxious and conflicted. These characteristics showed some stability from the colicky period to 1 year of age. In the present study, we examined the functioning of these families 3 years after the colicky period. The McMaster Family Assessment Device was used to evaluate the family interaction in 59 families with previously colicky infants and 58 control families. Three years after the colicky period, families with moderately and severely colicky infants did not differ significantly from control families with respect to psychological family characteristics.

Some of the most interesting cases in pediatric practice evolve through time. What may begin as a clear, well defined problem with a predictable natural history and an accepted intervention strategy may develop into a more complex, multi-faceted set of problems. It is these children who potentially provide clinicians with new insights into behaviors. This case of a colicky infant illustrates the wide spectrum of behavioral and physiological symptoms that emerge from a specific underlying behavioral phenomenon. It also emphasizes the significant benefit derived from a longitudinal perspective of developmental events.

A prospective study of 59 colicky infants and 58 age-matched controls assessed infants' temperament at the ages of 3 and 12 months and their sleeping patterns at the ages of 8 and 12 months. At age 3 months, the mothers regarded the colicky infants as more intense in their reactions, less persistent, more distractible, and more negative in their mood. At age 12 months, mothers regarded 23% of the colicky infants to be more difficult than average compared to 5% of controls. The mothers regarded their colicky infants as more active and less persistent. However, the Toddler Temperament Scale showed no difference between the groups in any area of temperament. No significant difference was found between the two groups in sleeping patterns. The discrepancy between infants' actual temperament and mothers' general perception of temperament may reflect the influence of infantile colic on the mother-infant relationship.