A baby's cry not only commands our attention, it also rattles our executive functions – the very neural and cognitive processes we use for making everyday decisions, according to a new University of Toronto study.
Leaving an infant to 'cry it out' from birth up to 18 months does not appear to adversely affect their behavior development or attachment.
“A baby crying activates the circuits in the mother's brain that are similar to those that become overactive in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder,” Swain says. “It also affects the parts of the brain that motivate us, help us appraise the environment, and calm us so we don't get too angry.”
Prolonged crying can cause a baby's stress levels to increase, leading to a state of exhaustion and a decrease in their oxygen levels. This can be dangerous and potentially lead to long-term health problems.
Hearing a baby cry activates a physiological response that cannot be controlled. MRIs taken of a mother's brain when she hears her baby's cries show that the brain lights up in response within a second. Those areas that light up are associated with empathy, compassion, and notably alarm.
The sound of your baby crying triggers anxiety because it causes a primal reaction. It sets off the amygdala region of your brain that generates the fear response, which puts your body into fight-or-flight mode. Sensory overload is when the brain is getting more input from your senses than it can cope with.
Research has shown that, during pregnancy, your baby feels what you feel—and with the same intensity. That means if you're crying, your baby feels the same emotion, as if it's their own.
Crying it out
It's OK to let your baby cry if the baby doesn't seem sick and you've tried everything to soothe your baby. You can try to leave your baby alone in a safe place, such as a crib, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Many babies need to cry before they can fall asleep.
Your baby's intervals of crying should be no longer than 10 minutes. And with the bedtime fading technique, you put your baby to bed a little later each night, shifting bedtime back by 10 to 15 minutes, until your little one is tired enough to fall asleep on their own, even with a bit of crying.
If your baby cries for you, experts suggest that you let her cry for a short interval of between two minutes and 10 minutes, before going to comfort her. You can gently pat and reassure her while she's still in her cot or pick her up and put her down again.
It has to do with the way our brains are wired. We feel a sense of urgency when babies cry. It's almost like a fire alarm goes off in our brains. This is nature's way of making sure we do our jobs: respond to our babies' needs and take care of them!
Babies cry a lot in their first 3 months. On average, babies cry and fuss for almost 2 hours a day, and around 1 in 10 babies cry for a lot longer than this. Crying usually reaches a peak at about 6 weeks of age and then gradually lessens to approximately an hour a day by 12 weeks of age.
"About 20 minutes would be enough to cause damage," says Sunderland, who drew her conclusions after studying hundreds of research papers on stress and brain development.
Researchers have also found that babies who are regularly left to cry for long periods are likely to experience overactive adrenaline systems, which can lead to aggressive and impulsive behaviour.
Babies express their needs to the mother (or caregiver) through crying. Letting babies "cry it out" is a form of need-neglect that leads to many long-term effects. Consequences of the "cry it out" method include: It releases stress hormones, impairs self-regulation, and undermines trust.
What Is PURPLE Crying? PURPLE crying is a stage that some babies go through when they seem to cry for long periods of time and resist soothing. Your baby may find it hard to settle or calm down no matter what you do for them. The phrase PURPLE crying was coined by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
You can't spoil a baby. Contrary to popular myth, it's impossible for parents to hold or respond to a baby too much, child development experts say. Infants need constant attention to give them the foundation to grow emotionally, physically and intellectually.
Newborns are not typically capable of self-soothing, and encouraging them to do so can be harmful, as their sleep patterns are irregular, and they need to eat frequently to gain weight.
A baby "should simply be allowed to 'cry it out'. This often requires an hour, and in extreme cases, two or three hours. A second struggle will seldom last more than 10 or 15 minutes and a third will rarely be necessary."
Just give your baby 1-2 minutes to settle down. And as your baby gets older, you can also give them some time to settle when they wake or grizzle during the night. Your baby might re-settle without your help.
For infants, crying is the sole form of communication and there are three distinct types: A “basic cry” is a rhythmic pattern consisting of a cry followed by silence; an “anger cry” is similar to a basic cry but with more volume due to the release of excessive air through the infant's vocal chords; and a “pain cry” is ...
Studies have shown that infants as young as one month-old sense when a parent is depressed or angry and are affected by the parent's mood. Understanding that even infants are affected by adult emotions can help parents do their best in supporting their child's healthy development.
From your smell and voice, your baby will quickly learn to recognise you're the person who comforts and feeds them most, but not that you're their parent. However, even from birth, your baby will start to communicate with signals when they're tired and hungry, or awake and alert.
Taking a break
If you start to feel you can't handle the situation, set the baby down in a safe location and get help from a family member or friend. This will give you needed relief, and a new face can sometimes calm your baby. No matter how impatient or angry you feel, do not shake or hit the baby.