Researched say babies cry more in Britain,
Canada, Italy and Netherlands than in other countries, while newborns in
Denmark, Germany and Japan cry and fuss the least.
In research looking at how much babies around
the world cry in their first three months, released on Monday, psychologists
from Britain have created the first universal charts for normal amounts of
crying during that period.
Sunnewsonline reports that Dieter Wolker, who
led the study at Warwick University, said: “babies are already very different
in how much they cry in the first weeks of life.
“We may learn more from looking at cultures where there is less crying,
(including) whether this may be due to parenting or other factors relating to
pregnancy experiences or genetics.”
The highest levels of colic, defined as
crying more than three hours a day for at least three days a week, were found
in babies in Britain, Canada and Italy, while the lowest colic rates were found
in Denmark and Germany.
On average, the study found, babies cry for
around two hours a day in the first two weeks.
They then cry a little more in the following
few weeks until they peak at around two hours 15 minutes a day at six weeks.
The research, published in the Journal of
Pediatrics, was a meta-analysis of studies covering some 8,700 babies in
countries including Germany, Denmark, Japan, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and
Britain.
Wolker said the new crying chart would help
health workers reassure parents whether their baby is crying within a normal
range in the first three months, or may need extra support. (NAN)
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