Sometimes babies continue to cry regularly even after their parents have tried everything to calm them down. This is known as “excessive” crying (also known as infantile colic). According to a definition by the American pediatrician Morris Wessel, excessive crying occurs if an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby cries for more than 3 hours a day for more than 3 days a week over a period of more than 3 weeks (“rule of three” or “Wessel criteria”).

Additional characteristics of excessive crying are:

• The baby cries without an apparent reason and cannot be calmed down by common soothing strategies.
• The crying can only be interrupted briefly; therefore, intensive and constantly new stimuli are necessary.
• The baby is unable to calm down even though he or she seems overtired.
• The baby seems overstimulated and is easily irritated.
• The crying usually starts in the afternoon or in the evening and can last for several hours.
• The baby pulls his or her legs up when crying, is literally “beside itself” and gets red skin.

Excessively crying babies usually don’t show obvious signs of illness and they usually thrive and develop well. Nevertheless, many parents wonder whether their baby has pain or could even be ill. If you have such worries, you should talk to your pediatrician, who will check whether your child is physically well. Your pediatrician will usually be able to reassure you: Excessive crying is also a developmental phase – it doesn’t have to apply to every child, but it can occur in both boys and girls, especially in the first few months of life.

Up to 20% of all babies cry excessively in the first few months of life. Thus, the symptoms are not uncommon. The reasons for excessive crying are still not exactly known. Studies have shown that in the vast majority of cases, excessive crying cannot be attributed to pain. In far less than 10% of the cases, an organic cause can be found, such as an allergy.

In most babies, excessive crying subsides until the end of the 3rd month of life.