The American Academy of Neurology recently issued a report stating that Moms who suffer with migraines are 2.5 times more likely to have colicky babies.
Colicky babies were defined as healthy babies who had unexplained periods of distress. The researchers stated that this early behavior may be a precursor to child and/or adult migraines.
It’s interesting to note that 29% of children whose mothers have a history or migraines were colicky and only 11% of other children. (That is close to 3 times as many colicky children in mothers who have a history of migraines).
A child is considered colicky if he/she cries continuously for 3+ hours a day, for 3+ days a week, for 3+ weeks. The colic is often thought to be caused by GI discomfort though there is little proof of this.
The study doesn’t prove that colicky children will definitely become migraine sufferers, but their tantrums will not help their migraine suffering moms.
Other researchers think that other non-headache symptoms like vomiting and vertigo may also be linked to the development of migraines later on.
It is known that there seems to be a genetic link with migraines as well. Even when fathers were asked about their migraine status, it turned out that 22% of colicky babies had a father with migraine history as opposed to only 10% whose father didn’t suffer with migraines. I assume it would be a double whammy if both parents are sufferers, but I didn’t see any data on that.
Curt Hendrix M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.
