Excessive infant crying: often not confined to the first 3 months of age.
Excessive crying/fussing in infancy may account for serious problems in mother-infant interactions but is believed to be self-limiting around the age of 3 months. A random digit dialling telephone survey weighted by sex, age, and population density and yielding 662 children aged 9 to <36 months was used to estimate prevalence and the proportion of cases where this problem extends beyond the third month postpartum. Excessive infant crying/fussing during the first 3 months of age was found in 21.0% (95% CI 17.9-24.1) and persisted for longer in 39.6% (95% CI 31.5-47.7) of these. Professionals consulting parents on crying problems should take into account its possible persistence for longer periods of time.
Wurmser
H
H
Institute for Social Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Munich, Heiglhofstr. 63, D-81377, Munich, Germany.
Laubereau
B
B
Hermann
M
M
Papousek
M
M
von Kries
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003448:Crying / Q000523:psychology*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005859:Germany, East / Q000453:epidemiology; D005860:Germany, West / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone