Cry babies 'could be mentally ill'From: AAP
December 19, 2005
EXCESSIVE crying in babies could be an early warning sign of childhood mental health problems, a Melbourne researcher said today.
Dr Mary Brown, from Melbourne University, followed the progress of 75 babies admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital for unexplained severe crying episodes between 1995 and 1998.
In four out of the five babies, the crying episodes lasted more than three hours a day and none were diagnosed with reflux or other medical problems which could cause pain.
"The common paediatric advice when children have colic or excessive irritability is that they will grow out of it, and for most children this is true," Dr Brown said.
"But there also appears to be a sub-group of children where crying is a precursor to mental health problems."
Dr Brown assessed the children again when they were aged between five and eight years old.
She found 20 per cent of the children had a clinically significant mental health disorder, including behavioural problems and depression.
Just over a quarter of them had a separation anxiety disorder by the time they went to school.
Two children were so depressed they said they wanted to die, and one child from the group was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Dr Brown said her study pointed to the need for further research and for medical professionals to closely monitor the progress of babies who were admitted to hospital for excessive crying.
"We should develop more effective interventions to relieve the distress of these babies and their families, and monitor them until the problem is resolved and ensure their psycho-social development is normal."
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Anyone here cries a lot when they are a baby? 