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Chapter 1: What are the main challenges parents face with crying babies?
What is the best way to soothe a crying baby? Thanks for asking. Getting babies to sleep is big business and a major source of stress for parents. There are many theories and methods. Rock them, sing, let them cry it out. But now science has come to the rescue and we can finally put this question to bed.
Meow.
Well, hopefully.
According to a study published in September 2022 in Current Biology, approximately 20 to 30% of infants cry excessively and exhibit sleep difficulties for no apparent reason, which of course can be exhausting for most people, but can become more serious in some cases, as they point out, as it causes parental stress and even triggering impulsive child maltreatment in a small number of cases.
So finding a way to soothe babies is very important. What did scientists discover? The researchers looked at studies of other mammals, like cats, dogs, mice and squirrels, all who, like us, have babies who are helpless at birth. Studies of these animals showed that when mothers carried their young, they became calmer.
This effect is called the transport response and may have developed because animals often move their young to avoid danger. And it seems the same might be true of humans. The team monitored 21 babies and their parents interacting using heart monitors and video. They made note of four different approaches to soothing a crying child.
Holding them while sitting, putting them in a bed, holding them while walking or rocking them in a pram or chair. They discovered that movement was key and that only babies being carried or rocked were soothed. Being put in a bed or even being held but not moving did nothing. After five minutes, all of the babies stopped crying and most of them had fallen asleep.
But, as all parents know, you cannot just put your baby down as soon as it's asleep. And the researchers agree. A third of babies would wake up again immediately if placed in a bed. So how do you get the baby to sleep? Here too, science can help us.
The heart monitors showed that the moment the physical contact with the parent was lost, the baby's heart rates would increase enough to wake them up. And so lying them down, even really, really, really slowly, just did not work.
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Chapter 2: What scientific discoveries help soothe crying babies?
Instead, they suggest that sitting a further five to eight minutes with the baby until they fall into deeper sleep is the way forward. So in a nutshell, walk or rock your crying baby for five minutes and then hold on to them for a further five. Simple, right?
Well, as the researchers acknowledge, a study of 21 babies is just a beginning and further research is needed. There you have it. Now you know how to soothe a crying baby. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you really will know for sure.