Three weeks of administration with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12 was also associated with significant improvements for parents and caregivers, with scores for their physical, emotional and social functioning all increasing, compared to placebo.
While other studies have reported BB-12 administration may improve colic, the study is reportedly the first to investigate a potential benefit of probiotic administration to colicky infants on their parents, as measured by Parent’s/caregiver’s Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) scores.
“The results of this study strongly support a clinically relevant benefit of the probiotic strain B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 on reducing crying and fussing in infants diagnosed with infant colic,” wrote researchers from China and Denmark’s Chr Hansen in the journal Beneficial Microbes.
1 in 4 infants worldwide suffers from colic
Colic is defined as severe pain in the abdomen caused by wind or obstruction in the intestines and suffered especially by babies. Characterized by excessive crying, grimacing, a red face, knees drawn up to the chest, clenched fists and excessive gas, the answer seems to lie in the gut. It’s one of the most common reasons parents seek medical advice during the first three months of their baby’s life.
Babies with colic have lower counts of good bacteria and increased concentrations of undesirable bacteria in their digestive tracts.
This has led to multiple studies using probiotics to impact measures of colic.
Study details
For the new study, the researchers recruited 192 full-term colicky infants younger than 3 months of age. The infants were randomly assigned to receive either 1 billion CFUs per day of BB-12 or placebo for three weeks.