Recognize the Purple Crying Phase in Babies and Tips to Overcome It

Illustration (Vlada Karpovich/Pexels)

JAKARTA - It is normal for a baby to cry often as a form of communication. However, do you know that there is no such thing as purple crying?

So in the purple crying phase, babies will cry more often and can be very long. Usually starts when they are 2, reaches its peak at 8 weeks, and slowly stops on its own when entering the 12th week.

Calm, at this stage the crying baby does not turn purple! Then, what is the meaning of purple crying? The term purple itself is a mention that indicates the character of the baby's cry.

P (peak crying): This is the phase when the baby starts to cry more often than usual.

U (unpredictable crying): The baby will cry suddenly without a clear cause.

R (resist soothing) : When crying, it is difficult to stop.

P (pain-like face): The mother will see the baby expressing as if he is in pain but does not find the cause.

L (long-lasting): Baby crying can be very long, about 30-40 minutes. If calculated all day, the total crying time can be 5 hours or more.

E (evening): Afternoon and evening are the time he cries longer.

So how do you deal with the situation when purple crying occurs? One way you can do is skin to skin contact with the baby. Mom can hug him and give him a sense of comfort. So that he is warmer, he can be covered with a soft baby blanket.

Moms can also carry babies while walking around the house or rocking their bodies. Being close to the baby can tell him that his parents are on his side and he will always be safe.

If he cries near bath time, try bathing him with warm water to calm him down and relax. But if it's not time yet and the weather outside is quite cool, you can also hold him and take him outside the house to enjoy the fresh air.

Don't forget to check his body condition, including temperature or maybe there are things that make him uncomfortable. It could be that he is crying because he is itchy, uncomfortable, has a rash, is bitten by mosquitoes, hungry or cold.