Living With a Colicky Infant
- 1 January 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Gastroenterology Nursing
- Vol. 28 (1), 19-25
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00001610-200501000-00005
Abstract
Infant colic is prolonged hard crying for no apparent reason in an otherwise healthy infant. The purpose of this study was to describe the parents' experiences of caring for their infants with colic. This qualitative study employed a multiple case study design using a descriptive approach through indepth interviews. Five of the interviews were conducted in person, and 10 were conducted via e-mail. One or both parents of 15 colicky infants were interviewed about their recent experiences of living with colicky infants. Three themes--crying, emotions (anger, frustration, worry, and guilt), and feelings (hopeless, helpless, isolated, and unloved) were identified. This study adds the rich description that was missing from the previous two qualitative studies of infant colic. It also adds fathers' perspectives of the experience of living with a colicky infant. Lastly, this study demonstrates that indepth interviews can be conducted via e-mail as well as in person.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Whatever happened to qualitative description?Research in Nursing & Health, 2000
- The infant cry: What can it tell us?Current Problems in Pediatrics, 1996
- CRYING PATTERNS IN PRETERM INFANTSDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 1996
- Infantile colic: Natural history and treatmentCurrent Problems in Pediatrics, 1996
- DURATION AND PATTERN OF CRYING IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFEDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 1995
- Acoustic Analysis of Cries from "Normal" and "Irritable" InfantsWestern Journal of Nursing Research, 1994
- Psychosocial predisposing factors for infantile colic.BMJ, 1993
- Infant Colic and Maternal Mental Health: Nursing Research and Practice ConcernsIssues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 1992
- Colic for developmentalistsInfant Mental Health Journal, 1990
- On the Importance of Fundamental Frequency and Other Acoustic Features in Cry Perception and Infant DevelopmentChild Development, 1989