Why do babies cry?

BMJ 1999;319:1381-1381 ( 27 November )

Editorials

Why do babies cry?

We still know too little about what will ease babies' pain

Paper p 1393

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Parents know that babies cry because they are either in pain or distressed. They also know that babies cry to attract theirattention so that they can comfort them. Pain is a subjectiveexperience so one cannot prove that a newborn baby is in pain.One can, however, confirm that the baby is exhibiting signs ofdistress, probably caused by a painful procedure (such as venepuncture).Parents know that a crying baby needs comforting and will holdthe infant close. Breast feeding mothers will give their infantsthe opportunity to breast feed, even if they are nothungry.

The study by Carbajal et al in this week's issue confirms that these actions of mothers are appropriate (p 1393).¹ Thisis important not because parents are likely to change their behaviourbut because it will encourage health professionals to modify theirbehaviour when caring for newborn infants. Observational studieshave . . . [Full text of this article]

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Bouwmeester, N. J., Anand, K. J. S., van Dijk, M., Hop, W. C. J., Boomsma, F., Tibboel, D. (2001). Hormonal and metabolic stress responses after major surgery in children aged 0-3 years: a double-blind, randomized trial comparing the effects of continuous versus intermittent morphine{dagger}. Br J Anaesth 87: 390-399 [Abstract] [Full text]
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