"A new clinical trial suggests that a daily dose of a probiotic may ease digestive upset in babies.
Italian researchers randomly assigned 468
infants less than a week old to receive either a daily oral dose of
Lactobacillus reuteri or an identical tasting placebo. Parents recorded
the daily frequency of bowel movements and spitting up as well as the
amount of time babies cried inconsolably. Investigators followed the
families with weekly phone calls or personal meetings. The study appears online in JAMA Pediatrics.
After one month, the babies who got the
probiotic showed a significant decrease in crying time and an increase
in frequency of bowel movements compared with those who got the placebo.
By three months, their frequency of spitting up was reduced as well.
The babies taking the probiotic had fewer
emergency department visits and needed less medication for stomach
problems. Their parents lost fewer days of work, and there were no
adverse side effects. The results were adjusted to account for the
effects of breast or bottle feeding, vaginal or cesarean delivery, and
other factors."
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Posted by Sharon Wyse L.Ac
