title: Reduced crying in term infants fed high beta-palmitate formula: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Beta-palmitate (sn-2 palmitate) mimics human milk fat, enabling easier digestion.Therefore, we hypothesized that infants consuming high beta-palmitate formula would have more frequent, softer stools and reduced crying compared to infants consuming low beta-palmitate formula.
  
  
  METHODS
  Formula-fed infants were randomly assigned to receive either (1) formula with high beta-palmitate (HBP, n = 21) or (2) regular formula with a standard vegetable oil mix (LBP, n = 21). A matched group of breastfed infants served as a reference (BF, n = 21). Crying and stool characteristics data were recorded by the parents for 3 days before the 6- and 12-week visits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no significant differences in the stool frequency or consistency between the two formula groups. The percentage of crying infants in the LBP group was significantly higher than that in the HBP and BF groups during the evening at 6 weeks (88.2% vs. 56.3% and 55.6%, p < 0.05) and during the afternoon at 12 weeks (91.7% vs. 50.0% and 40%, p < 0.05). The infants fed HBP had significantly shorter crying durations when compared with infants fed LBP formula (14.90 ± 3.85 vs.63.96 ± 21.76 min/day, respectively; p = 0.047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study indicates that consumption of a high beta-palmitate formula affects infant crying patterns during the first weeks of life. Comparable to breastfeeding, it reduced crying duration and frequency, primarily during the afternoon and evening hours, thereby improving the well-being of formula-fed infants and their parents.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT00874068.Registration date March 31, 2009.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Department Meir Medical center, (Tchernichovsky 59), Kfar Saba (4428164), Israel. litmani@clalit.org.il.
authors.forename: Ita
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Litmanovitz
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bar-Yoseph
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
authors.forename: Keren
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eliakim
authors.forename: Rivka H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Regev
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nemet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003448:Crying; D003672:Defecation; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010168:Palmitates / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010168:Palmitates