As parents of babies with colic, you know the struggle is real. It’s distressing to watch your child in pain, but how can you help them when the cause seems to be a mystery? Thankfully, you can bring your baby relief and help the healthy development of their GI tract. In this guide, you’ll learn about the importance of beneficial bacteria in your infant’s digestive system plus some effective organic probiotics for babies.
Possible Causes of Colic
Scientists still don’t know the exact cause of colic. However, possible gastrointestinal-related issues may be to blame:
- Too few healthy bacteria in the GI tract
- Food intolerances or allergies
- Underfeeding, overfeeding, or improper burping practices
Because a baby’s digestive system hasn’t fully evolved, this can increase the likelihood of digestive issues. Helping your infant develop a healthy GI tract is vital to reducing and relieving colic, especially within the first few months of life.
The Link Between Probiotics and Infant Colic Relief
Babies inherit some beneficial bacteria in utero, but they gain more after they’re born. Breast milk is an ideal source of probiotics, including Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium species. Bacteroides varieties prevent pathogens from entering the gut. Bifidobacteria do the same thing while performing other functions such as helping with vitamin production, systemic immunity, and maintaining intestinal microbial homeostasis. When breastfeeding isn’t possible, some infant formulas contain these essential probiotics to encourage infant gut microbiome development.
Despite parents’ best efforts, their babies still may develop colic. Fortunately, impactful solutions exist. The same probiotics that help infants’ GI systems mature can also bring relief and minimize future occurrences of colic. Adding a probiotic drop to your baby’s daily diet is an excellent solution. You can conveniently mix these drops in with breast milk or infant formula.
Help Soothe Your Baby’s Discomfort
If you’re not familiar with gripe water, then learning about it can help you choose impactful remedies for your baby. “Gripe water” is a broad term referring to formulas that relieve colic, gastrointestinal ailments, and other common stomach discomforts in infants.
Traditional gripe water contains sodium bicarbonate and a mix of herbs. In limited amounts, sodium bicarbonate may relieve acid reflux symptoms. While each recipe is unique, most gripe water varieties include chamomile, dill, fennel, ginger, lemon balm, or peppermint. While soothing digestive distress, they can also have a calming effect on infants.
In addition to conventional ingredients, some gripe water formulas include probiotic elements. Bacillus coagulans is an excellent example: As another species of beneficial bacteria, it generates lactic acid. A natural preservative, it’s present in fermented foods such as yogurt and kimchi. Lactic acid aids in healthy digestion, but the probiotics that manufacture it also help comprise our gut microbiomes. Besides providing temporary relief, probiotic gripe water can contribute to long-term digestive health in babies by adding this healthy bacteria to their GI tracts.
Symptom Relief and Long-Term Benefits
Probiotics offer essential benefits to people of any age, but they’re especially vital for newborns and infants. Organic probiotic baby products can contribute significantly to digestive development, helping babies’ gut microbiomes evolve and address common issues like colic.
