Excessive crying in babies bodes badly for future

Babies who persistently cry and have problems sleeping and feeding are more likely to become children with behavioural problems later in life, a study has found.

According to the study, around one in five babies cry excessively and have problems eating and/or feeding, known as 'regulatory problems.'

Although past studies have indicated that regulatory problems may indicate future behavioural problems in childhood, the results have been inconclusive.

Researchers at the University of Warwick, University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Bochum in Germany analysed data from 22 studies from 1987 to 2006, involving nearly 16,848 children, of whom 1,935 showed regulatory problems.

They found that babies with previous regulatory problems were more likely to have behavioural issues as children - most commonly ADHD or aggressive behaviour.

The more difficulties the baby had with sleeping, crying and feeding, the more likely it was to develop behavioural problems in the future, the study found.

Writing in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, the authors concluded: “Regulatory problems in infancy can increase the likelihood of developing behaviour problems in childhood.

“Our findings highlight the need for prospective follow-up studies of regulatory disturbed infants and require reliable assessments of crying, sleeping, or feeding problems."

This article was published on Thu 21 April 2011