Strategies for consoling the infant with colic: fact or fiction?

"Persistent" crying has been labeled a developmental crises of parenthood, given the feelings of inadequacy it engenders in new parents. Nearly one of five infants has colic, or more than 700,000 infants in the United States each year. Because there is no "cure" for colic, therapeutic approaches are generally aimed at "containment" of the crying. Such approaches can be classified as feeding/formula modifications, pharmacological agents, and sensory stimulation approaches. This report examines the evidence supporting or refuting the utility of each approach.