Maybe you’ve heard of it. Maybe you haven’t. Either way, the “period of PURPLE crying” is a new way pediatricians are helping parents understand that even when babies cry a lot, it’s a very normal developmental phase.
No matter how frustrating.
Dr. Ronald Barr, a developmental pediatrician, came up with the phrase to ease parents’ anxieties ““ and sometimes anger ““ during this period when infants cry often and resist soothing, and to assure them that the behavior is normal. And temporary.
In the theory, the period of unexplained crying begins at about 2 weeks of age and continues until around 3 or 4 months of age. “PURPLE” is an acronym. It stands for:
P ““ peak of crying
Your baby may cry more each week, the most in month two, then less in months three to five.
U ““ unexpected
Crying can come and go and you don’t know why.
R ““ resists soothing
Your baby may not stop crying no matter what you try.
P ““ pain-like face
A crying baby may look like he’s in pain, even when he’s not.
L ““ long lasting
Crying can last as much as five hours a day or more.
E ““ evening
Your baby may cry more in the late afternoon and evening.
According to the developers, who looked at different animal species to see if they go through this same developmental stage, all of the breast-feeding animals tested have a similar developmental stage of crying more in the first few months of life.
“They researched humans of all cultures, as well as primates, and found that they all need this period of unregulated crying,” said Dr. John La Count, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office.
At the beginning of July, St. Elizabeth began giving the parents of new pediatric patients and new parents in The Family Birth Place, the hospital’s birthing center, a copy of a nine-minute video detailing the “period of PURPLE crying.”
“Our hope is to educate parents of infants that this is a normal developmental milestone and, hopefully, diminish episodes of child abuse,” La Count said. “We want parents to have this information in hand ahead of time so they’re ready and have skills at the ready to deal with excessive crying.”
For more information on the “period of PURPLE crying,” you can visit the website.
