What is colic and when does it end?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
Colic: crying more than 3 hours a day, at least 3 days a week, for at least a week in an otherwise healthy baby - the NHS definition - and the mercy is the end date: it should improve by around 3 or 4 months of age. No cause is proven and no remedy works reliably; holding, motion, white noise, and a feeding-technique check help some. A one-time GP visit excludes other causes. The real protection is for the parents: colic is the peak shaking-risk window, so work in shifts, use earplugs off-duty, and put the baby safely down when coping frays.
What to do
- Confirm the pattern with the GP once. Exclude reflux, allergy, infection.
- Hold the 3-to-4-month finish line in view. It ends on schedule.
- Skip remedy roulette. Weak evidence; doctor-guided trials only.
- Protect the caregivers. Shifts, breaks, safe put-downs. In crisis: 988 in the US, or your local crisis line.
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