Why is the baby arching and crying?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Back arching and head tilting is a fairly common problem among toddlers. Almost every parent notices such changes in their child. Quite often, tilting the head back and arching the back, which is often accompanied by crying, can be caused by colic in newborns. But unfortunately, there are more serious reasons.

Baby cries and arches over

If you notice that your baby in the crib performs an action similar to an acrobatic trick, you should not convince yourself that he has an early ability to gymnastics. Very often arching, somewhat reminiscent of the “bridge” position in sports, is associated with serious problems. Maybe it's colic. Or maybe an increase in intracranial pressure or hypertonicity of the baby's muscles, requiring an immediate visit to a neurologist.

Baby Colic

Almost all babies face intestinal colic in the first months of life. The cause is consideredchanging the nutrition system, as well as improving the gastrointestinal tract.

In the mother's tummy, the baby received all the necessary substances for growth and development through the umbilical cord. When the baby's stomach is born, it is not yet ready for independent work. Therefore, quite often, babies can experience gas, pain, cramps and other discomfort. Most often, they are the main reason that the child arches and cries.

In order to make sure that the cause is determined correctly, you need to watch the baby for some time. If, after the discharge of the gas, the baby calms down, then soon this anxiety will end. On average, the period of colic in newborns lasts from 1 to 2 months.

Signs of colic

Diagnosis of this phenomenon is significantly difficult. The fact is that the baby tends to cry a lot in the first months of life, since this period accounts for its adaptation to life outside the womb. No more than 2 hours of whims during the day fit into the norm. Anything above the indicated indicator should begin to disturb parents. Often the crying and arching of the back during colic is worse at night. In addition to these symptoms, colic may be accompanied by several other signs.

Let's consider the most common:

1. Baby can scream.
2. The baby's face turns red.
3. Often the knees are bent, and the legs are maximally tucked in.
4. The little hands clench into fists.
5. Torsois in a state of tension, and the head is thrown back.
6. The baby has a flush of blood to the face area.
7. Baby's feet are quite cold compared to body temperature.

How to fight?

The baby cries and arches in his sleep. Fortunately, such unpleasant symptoms disappear suddenly. Usually, by 3-4 months, colic stops bothering the baby.

There is no single method that would help all babies in the fight against colic in the same way. Despite the huge number of special tools that are found on the shelves of pharmacies, there is no guarantee that they will help you.

The following colic treatments help some people:

1. Light tummy massage clockwise.
2. Warm bath.
3. Feeding while screaming.
4. Free swaddling baby.
5. Warm diaper on baby's tummy.

Despite the anxiety of the baby, parents should be patient, as colic is only temporary.

Hypertonic neck muscles

Now quite often this diagnosis is made to children during the first month of life. The fact is that such a deviation is temporary and is characteristic of many newborns. Up to 3 months, arching of the back is considered a physiological norm and does not require treatment.

Hypertonicity of the back and neck can cause involuntary arching of the back.

You can define this problem as follows:

1. Put the baby on your stomach and watch him. If the child begins to tilt his head back, and raises his shoulders without the help of hands, then hypertonicity of the back muscles can be suspected.
2. In order to check the hypertonicity of the neck muscles, you need to put the baby on his back, and then lower his chin closer to the chest. If resistance is felt during this manipulation, then this indicates an increased tone.

Usually, for the treatment of mild hypertension, a course of massage and gymnastics are prescribed. Sometimes pediatricians recommend swimming. Complicated forms of hypertonicity, accompanied by torticollis, often include drug treatment.

Main signs of hypertonicity

Increased tone in children is often accompanied by the following features:

1. The baby arches back and cries. Whims are more like groaning. From the outside, it may seem that the baby is struggling to lift a heavy load.
2. Light stroking as well as massage can calm the baby for a while. Moreover, the baby will take the usual position of the body after such manipulations.
3. The baby bends, and the muscles are in great tension. It may seem that the baby is trying to master a difficult physical exercise.

Increased intracranial pressure

Why is the baby arching and crying?! Quite often, parents associate this phenomenon with an increase in intracranial pressure. But besides the fact that the child arches, he can also spit up. The main reason for this behaviorcrumbs is a neurotic disease. It's pretty dangerous!

Consider the causes that can lead to this disease:

1. Metabolic disorders.
2. Encephalitis.
3. Complicated pregnancy.
4. Birth trauma.
5. Heredity.
6. Tranio-cerebral injuries.
7. Meningitis.
8. Brain tumors.

Quite often, the condition of a child faced with this problem may be accompanied by vomiting. After that, the baby is in an absolutely calm state for some time.

A neuropathologist working with children can diagnose a disease of this kind. He will examine the baby. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the doctor will carry out treatment. If the diagnosis is not confirmed, then in the future it is simply necessary to continue planned monitoring.

Signs of intracranial pressure

Child year, cries and arches. What could it be? At this age, it is necessary to consult a neurologist immediately. The fact is that colic and the physiological norm of this phenomenon passes much earlier.

To exclude increased intracranial pressure, you need to make sure that the following signs are absent:

1. A child cries and arches at night. Very often whims turn into screams. Thus, the baby is trying to show his parents that he is in pain.
2. The baby arches restlessly in the back, and also throws his head far back.
3. Periodically, symptoms of vomiting may appear, after which the baby calms down for a while.

Important! Such a serious disease should only be diagnosed by a doctor. You should not look for all kinds of treatments at home, especially without consulting a specialist.

Whims of newborns

If a child arches and cries for no reason, then parents need to pay special attention to raising the baby in order to wean him from such whims. For a start, switching attention to something else will work great. It can be an interesting toy, a picture or a rattle.

It is common for babies to be naughty during feeding. Most often, crying can be caused by a variety of reasons. Consider the most common among them:

1. Baby indulges when he's already full, but really doesn't want to come off his mother's breast. As a result, in order to prolong the pleasant process a little more, the child begins to act up.
2. Sometimes the cause of a baby's crying may not be whims, but an insufficient amount of breast milk or its taste. As for the taste of breast milk, it depends on the mother's nutrition. And if there is not enough milk, then this can also be accompanied by arching the back and crying from the baby.

Other reasons

Sometimes a baby arches and cries when he wants to master the rollover. Although parents may think that their baby is crying, this is often not the case. It's common for kids to grunt like that the next time they try to learn this skill.

Often arching back and cryingarise if the child tries to reach the toy of interest to him, but he does not succeed.

Despite the above options, it is important to remember that a doctor's consultation is never superfluous. An experienced pediatrician and neurologist will always be able to recognize the true reason for this behavior of the baby. Based on the results of the examination, a diagnosis will be made. And if necessary, the baby will be prescribed massage and gymnastics. In severe cases, medication may be prescribed. The whole complex of such events is aimed exclusively at the he alth of the child and his full development.