Feed responsively and catch early cues, make sure no air is going in with the milk, and hold the baby upright against your chest for at least 30 minutes after a feed. Most of what's sold for colic — special bottles, cot wedges, mechanised seats, rectal tubes — has no good evidence behind it and some of it is unsafe. And a baby who strains, grunts and cries before passing wind or a normal soft stool probably has infant dyschezia, which is normal development, not pain.
Before any of the practical advice: listen to the parents' concerns and believe them, before trying to find a solution. Being told a baby's symptoms are normal can be reassuring, but it can also leave a parent feeling helpless and belittled. That first step is not optional.
Watch: eight practical ways to soothe a baby with colic, from Babyem's YouTube channel.
Table of contents
The basics that actually help
- Feed small quantities more frequently, responding at the first cues of hunger. Crying is a late sign — and it increases air swallowing, making both trapped wind and regurgitation more likely.
- Check feeding position and style, breast or bottle, so the baby isn't swallowing air with the milk.
- Keep the baby upright after feeds, against the chest with their head on the carer's shoulder, ideally for at least 30 minutes.
- Optimise breastfeeding management so the baby gets all the milk and the breasts drain well. If basic support isn't achieving it, consult an IBCLC.
When you put the baby down after that 30 minutes, don't put them in a car seat or bouncy chair where they can slump and put pressure on the gut. Put them on a flat surface, and try not to jiggle or move them too much while the feed settles.
The timing has a reason. Gastric emptying time for a breastfed baby is around 90 minutes — so by then half the feed has moved further into the gut, and less is lost if the baby does regurgitate.
After a large posset, a small extra feed can be genuinely helpful — it can leave a baby feeling empty, or with an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Never suggest stopping breastfeeding to manage reflux symptoms — or to improve sleep. Specialist milk should only be considered where there is a genuine clinical need, after a thorough assessment.
Stopping air getting in
Watch: paced bottle feeding, and how it reduces the air a baby takes in.
The bottle mistake almost everyone makes
The simplest way for air to get in with milk is for the carer to put the teat into the baby's mouth full of air, and not tip the bottle up until it's already there.
The baby's reward for their first efforts is around 15ml of air. Make sure the teat is already full of milk before it goes anywhere near the baby.
Don't shake the bottle
Shaking a bottle to mix powder — or to cool it under a tap — incorporates air into the liquid, and it doesn't have time to rise back out before the baby drinks it. That air ends up in the baby's stomach.
Instead: swirl to mix, stir with a clean sterilised spoon, or make the bottle and leave it 15–20 minutes for the bubbles to rise out. If you're making it with water at 70°C or above as safe preparation requires, the cooling time does this for you.
Positioning, breast and bottle
A baby also takes in air when their tongue can't maintain a seal throughout the suck-swallow pattern — either because of a tight lingual frenulum, or because the teat or nipple is going into the middle of the mouth with the head tipped forward, spine curved and chin near chest.
Breastfeeding: aim for a wide open mouth, head tipped back, an asymmetric latch with more areola visible above the top lip than below the bottom, a marked gap between nose and breast, and the chin fully indenting the breast. See position and attachment.
Bottle feeding: extend the baby's chest and neck up and back. Introduce the teat to the upper lip with the mouth closed, encouraging the baby to open wide and tip their head back, so the teat reaches the soft palate at the back of the roof of the mouth. The bottle rests on the bottom lip, jaw nice and wide, teat pointing towards the pointier part at the top-back of the head.
The winding hold that works
Watch: how to relieve lower wind trapped in a newborn.
Immediately after a feed:
- Hold the baby upright against your chest, facing towards you
- Their head on your right shoulder, their bottom between your breasts, on your solar plexus
- One hand resting gently on their back
- Your other hand supporting each buttock — thumb on one, fingers on the other
Three things are happening at once. The pressure and warmth on the abdomen helps the baby feel more comfortable. The hand position on the buttocks means gas or stool can get out through the anus. And the position of the digestive anatomy puts the trapped gas bubble directly under the sphincter, so when it opens the gas goes up into the oesophagus and out.
The anatomy is worth picturing: the stomach isn't round, it's curved, and the oesophagus enters towards the right of the body, not quite at the top — which allows a small pocket of gas to sit trapped in that upper section unless the baby is positioned to release it.
One more useful thing to know: that sphincter isn't yet under the baby's control. It works more or less on a timer, opening when it's been a while or when there's pressure to release. That's why some burps and spit-ups happen a long time after the feed — and why parents are often baffled by it.
What parents buy that doesn't work
As the hours of crying turn into days, exhausted parents turn to friends, family, pharmacies and the internet, and fall prey to trying more and more. It's overwhelming, and it's emotionally and financially draining.
Here's what's worth knowing about the main categories.
Anti-colic bottles and teats
Claims about reducing crying, colic or reflux are not substantiated. They rest on cutting down trapped gas — which is only one of several causes. Worse, the more fiddly an item is to clean, the less likely it is to be cleaned properly, and keeping bottles scrupulously clean and sterilised is the best defence against gastroenteritis.
Positional devices that lie a baby face down
Devices that secure a baby face down on a slight upward slope claim to give "tummy time in a natural, comfortable position". Even the manufacturers state these are not safe for sleep and the baby must never be left unattended. There's no evidence they prevent or manage colic or reflux, and they're no substitute for being held by a trusted adult.
Cot wedges and wedge-shaped pillows
These don't meet NHS safe sleep guidance. A baby may slip down into an unsafe position, and it's an extra item in the cot — which increases SIDS risk. There is also no evidence that raising the head of the cot reduces colic.
Mechanised bouncing and swaying seats
These claim to move "just like parents do when comforting their baby". What they actually do is reduce the baby's arousability — which isn't the same as providing the care a vulnerable baby needs. Babies should sleep on a flat, firm surface. They may quiet a baby short-term, but they address none of the potential causes.
Rectal catheters and "gas passer" tubes
Plastic tubes inserted into a baby's rectum, sold as a natural solution for colic and gas. They come with warnings not to leave them in and not to use more than three a day — which tells you something.
They don't relieve the pressure they claim to, because that pressure is built up throughout the intestines. Most paediatric health professionals actively recommend against this, along with the related folk practice of stimulating the anus with a rectal thermometer or digital massage. Those may appear to "work", but are either coincidental or simply delay the baby learning to coordinate their own muscles. See below.
Gripe waters and herbal preparations
The evidence base for most of these is weak — see the myth about medication for why gripe water can actually cause gas.
One genuine exception: a Cochrane systematic review of dietary modifications for infantile colic did find that a phytotherapeutic preparation reduced total crying in babies with existing colic. The herbs tested were chamomile (Matricaria recutita), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis).
Infant dyschezia — probably not constipation
This is one of the most commonly misread things in early infancy, and knowing it will save a lot of families a lot of worry.
Infant dyschezia is when a baby strains, grunts and cries for several minutes, several times a day, before eventually passing wind or a stool. It looks like pain. It looks like constipation. It is neither.
Most babies experience it at some point in the first weeks or months. All that's happening is that they haven't yet learned to coordinate three things at once: relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, moving the intestines, and generating pressure inside the abdomen. The straining, grunting and crying is the baby getting those muscles working in the right order, and pushing against a still-closed anal sphincter.
The giveaway: when the baby finally goes, it's normal soft baby poo. If it were constipation, it wouldn't be.
This is exactly where families get sold rectal tubes, or told to stimulate the baby's bottom. Neither is needed. The baby is learning a skill, and will get there.
Slings
Holding a baby upright and snuggled close reduces symptoms of distress — so using a sling or carrier to make that sustainable for the adult is a completely sensible response.
Choose one that wraps the baby in closely without any risk of smothering or of worsening potential hip dysplasia. Most areas have a local sling library — try before buying. Avoid outward-facing "crotch dangler" carriers and unsafe positioning, and use the TICKS safety mnemonic.
Helping families decide: B.R.A.I.N
Families are drowning in options. This is a simple framework for helping them think, rather than deciding for them.
- B — Benefits
- What are the benefits of this? How is it meant to help my baby?
- R — Risks
- What are the risks? How might this negatively affect my baby?
- A — Alternatives
- Are there alternatives? What other options exist?
- I — Intuition
- What's my gut feeling about this?
- N — Nothing
- What happens if we wait, or do nothing?
That last one does most of the work. A great deal of what's sold for colic is bought because doing nothing feels unbearable — not because the intervention is likely to help.
Why holding matters even when nothing works
Sometimes a baby cannot be soothed. That's genuinely distressing — most adults trying to comfort an inconsolable baby end up in tears themselves, because they want so badly to stop the suffering and feel powerless.
It still matters that the baby is held.
When a baby is distressed, cortisol surges in the brain effectively prune synaptic growth. That effect is mitigated by oxytocin, which acts as a fertiliser for synaptic growth — and oxytocin is released when a baby is comforted and held close to a trusted adult. So holding a crying baby you cannot soothe is not futile. It is neurologically protective.
Colicky crying causes real stress, anxiety and sometimes depression in carers, and we know this crying puts both babies and parents at risk. In the UK, Cry-sis exists specifically to support parents through it. Signpost it early, not as a last resort.
Common questions
How long should you hold a baby upright after a feed?
At least 30 minutes, against the chest with their head on your shoulder. Gastric emptying takes around 90 minutes in a breastfed baby, so by 30 minutes a useful amount has moved on.
Why is my baby straining and crying before pooing?
Most likely infant dyschezia — normal development, not constipation. The baby is learning to coordinate pelvic floor relaxation with intestinal movement. The giveaway is that the stool, when it comes, is normal and soft.
Do anti-colic bottles work?
The claims aren't substantiated, and they only address one possible cause. They're also harder to clean thoroughly, which raises gastroenteritis risk, so they aren't recommended.
Should you raise the head of the cot for reflux?
No. There's no evidence it reduces colic or reflux, cot wedges don't meet safe sleep guidance, and the baby may slip into an unsafe position.
Why does my baby swallow so much air from the bottle?
Most commonly because the teat goes into the mouth full of air before the bottle is tipped up — around 15ml of air in the first suck. Fill the teat with milk first, and swirl rather than shake when mixing.
Does anything herbal help colic?
A Cochrane review found a preparation of chamomile, fennel and lemon balm reduced total crying in babies with existing colic. Most other gripe water claims have weak evidence.
This article is for guidance and education. It is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a medical professional about a baby in your care, particularly if you have any concern at all.
About the author
Shel Banks is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, author of Why Formula Feeding Matters, and a co-author of the Cochrane systematic review on dietary modifications for infantile colic (Gordon et al., 2018). She was Vice-Chair of the UK Association of Milk Banking until 2024 and teaches Babyem's Colic, Reflux & Infant Allergies course.
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