Colic is a term normally used for a painful spasm of the bowels. However, infantile colic, which affects babies under three months of age, probably has nothing to do with the bowel at all. Research into colic has indicated that it may be a problem of a baby's immature nervous system rather than with digestion. Colicky babies are typically healthy in other respects.
Symptoms
A baby with colic refuses to settle, cries furiously, often sucks everything in sight but doesn't want to feed, and frequently draws the feet up to the stomach as if in pain. Sometimes excessive air may be taken in when the baby cries, which may cause discomfort, but medical research has failed to link colic to trapped wind. The baby often cries inconsolably for some hours at the same time each day. Colic occurs in all societies and cultures - in China it is known as 'the hundred days crying'.
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