A baby’s cry at birth tells the medical team that their lungs are healthy. Often parents will hear a doctor praise their baby’s cry, but does this mean that a baby who doesn’t cry at birth is not as healthy?
The science behind crying
Apart from the signature sound of a baby’s cry, there are many non-vocal elements of crying as well. Although crying seems like a very simple action, it actually involves the coordination of several complex elements: the musculature of the face; airways; and the respiration system.
A 2005 study found that the non-vocal elements of crying actually develop in the womb. In the study, vibroacoustic stimulation (applying a sound and vibration stimulus to the mother’s abdomen) was presented to 10 fetuses in the womb, and all of them showed fetal crying behavior as a response. They showed inhale and exhale patterns that mimicked post-womb crying, and they grimaced or frowned in the womb. The study revealed that, at 20 weeks gestation, the fetus has all of the motor skill coordination necessary for the non-vocal part of crying.
Crying directly after birth
When babies are delivered, they are exposed to cold air and a new environment, so that often makes them cry right away. This cry will expand the baby’s lungs and expel amniotic fluid and mucus. The baby’s first official cry shows that the lungs are working properly. However, the cry may be delayed because of a number of different factors, including a difficult delivery, a nuchal cord, etc.
When to worry
If a cry is delayed, it may not necessarily mean that the baby is not healthy. Your doctor may try to stimulate the baby’s first cry by drying the baby off or suctioning fluid out of their mouth or nose, if it doesn’t occur naturally.
If a delayed cry is accompanied by other emergency signs, the baby should be given immediate medical attention. These other elements of the evaluation of a newborn infant are measured using the Apgar score.
The parts of the Apgar score are:
A – Appearance (skin color)
P – Pulse (heart rate)
G – Grimace (reflex irritability/response)
A – Activity (muscle tone)
R – Respiration (breathing ability)
Each of the criteria is scored 0 – 2 (two being the best), and the total is found by adding all 5 scores together. Your doctor will usually do an Apgar test at one and five minutes after birth. Another Apgar test may be given at 10, 15, and 20 minutes if the initial score is low.
The scores can be broken down by severity of needed intervention.
A score of:
0-3 baby is in critical condition
4-6 baby likely needs immediate medical intervention
7-10 baby is within normal range but should still be monitored
Though a score above 7 is considered normal, a recent study showed that Apgar scores of 7-9 could still be associated with adverse outcomes. A score below 10 should still be monitored, even if it’s in the 7-10 range.
Disclaimer
ABC Law Centers is not run by medical professionals or associated with a medical facility. The above information should not be taken as medical advice. Always contact a medical professional when you are experiencing any of the above symptoms or any other concerning symptoms of pregnancy.
Sources:
Christel: “When my son Dylan was three years old, he began to share pre-birth memories of walking with Jesus in the clouds. Dylan said he watched me and told Jesus that I was the one.
“At first I thought, ‘This is just a little one with a big imagination.’
“Then Dylan started to tell me things that were facts: details of what it looks like in the womb and what he experienced during womb-time.
“Dylan said, ‘Everything had an almost orange-brown tint and it was warm water.’ He heard outside sounds, but they were unclear. They sounded like someone was talking with their hand over their mouth. Dylan also remembers sounds like low drums beating. (Heartbeat, maybe?)
“He was sorry that I was sick when he was born. Dylan said the medicine they gave me while in labor made me sick.
“It was, in fact, the anesthesia! The anesthesia made me very sick and I was vomiting for the whole day after having him.
“Dylan said it was very cold when he came out and the bright light burned his eyes. He said that is the reason babies cry at birth.
“Dylan consistently talked about his memories until he was 5 years old. And today, as a teenager, he still remembers his journey into this world.
“Telling me how he walked with Jesus in the clouds and always thought I was so pretty and that’s one of the reasons he chose me. I love listening to his stories!!!”
Asked by: Aruna Anhi, Leicester
Actually, not all babies cry with their first breath after being born. But all babies will cry within a few seconds if they are not immediately reunited with their mother. This is a simple adaptation that makes it less likely that they will get overlooked.
In fact, there is some evidence that baby cries have specifically evolved to be as annoying and hard to ignore as possible. Beyond the first few minutes of life and their first feed, neonatal infants may cry because they are bruised and sore from the trauma of birth, but generally the process is so exhausting for them that they will sleep for the next eight hours or so.
Make the most of it because that's the longest uninterrupted stretch of quiet you'll get for the next six months.
Read more:
- Can babies swim underwater?
- Do babies have nightmares?
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Your baby knows how to cry from the moment of birth. In fact, crying is their only way to communicate with you.
But when you’ve been listening to them cry for a few hours, the one thing you long for is a break in communication. Before you start crying yourself, take a deep breath to calm down, and we’ll solve the puzzle of why your baby might be upset.
It might be helpful to consider that, really, your baby is just talking to you. In fact, research shows that baby cries are influenced by their family’s native language. For instance, French and German babies cry with different melodies.
So the question becomes: What, exactly, is your baby trying to say? Here are some of the common issues your little one may be trying to communicate.
Digestive issues
Your baby’s digestive system is developing and there’s a lot of learning involved in this. Until things run smoothly, every step can be a reason to cry.
Hunger
Hunger is the most common reason that babies cry. Thankfully, it’s easy to take care of. Once your baby starts eating, they’ll settle down. Unless the next thing in our list kicks in.
Gas
Learning how to coordinate breathing with eating takes some time, and your baby is likely to swallow air. You can help your baby get rid of the gas by making sure to burp them during the feeding and after.
You can put them over your shoulder, lay them across your arm, or hold them upright under the arms while supporting the head. Be armed with a burp cloth to catch any spit-up.
Dirty diaper
Check that your baby’s diaper is clean. Poop will irritate their sensitive skin, especially if they already have a rash. Preempt trouble by smearing a layer of diaper cream over the diaper area every time you change them.
Too late? A milk bath can help clear diaper rash. A 2013 study showed that treating diaper rash with breast milk was as effective as using hydrocortisone 1% ointment alone.
Food sensitivities and allergies
If you’re breastfeeding know that whatever you eat passes on to your baby through your milk. Gluten, eggs, and dairy products can all be difficult for your baby to digest.
True food allergies among young children are rare. Still, if you’re breastfeeding, you may want to modify your diet. If your baby is formula fed, talk to your healthcare provider about switching formulas.
Typically solid foods are introduced at 6 months. You’ll want to talk to your healthcare provider about when to introduce common allergens like cow’s milk, peanuts, fish, wheat, and eggs. This timeline may vary, depending on whether your child is at high risk for developing a food allergy — your doctor knows your family best!
Other causes
Besides food and digestive issues, there are other reasons your baby might cry, including:
Fatigue
Babies can become overtired if they are awake for too long or if they’re overstimulated. Your baby will signal you that they’re getting tired by crying, yawning, touching their face or tugging their ears, clinging to you, or spacing out. Your job at this point is to get them to sleep.
Try swaddling, feeding, rocking, offering a pacifier, and darkening the room. When your baby gets drowsy, lay them on their back in their crib or bassinet.
Body temperature
Like us, babies don’t enjoy being too hot or too cold. Slip a finger down the back of your baby’s onesie to see if they’re damp with sweat. Touch your baby’s ears to feel if they’re too cold. And then clothe them appropriately.
The first cry of triumph that you hear when your baby takes their first breath may well be the highlight of giving birth.
Although most babies are born head first, they cannot take a breath as soon as their heads emerge because there is still too much pressure on their chest. Once you deliver the baby and the pressure eases, your baby’s breathing reflex kicks in.
Your little one will cough or sputter as they expel the fluid that is blocking their airway and fill their lungs with air. As the air speeds past their vocal cords, voila, that first cry rings out.
Recent research shows that studying these initial crying patterns could serve as markers between healthy infants and those with respiratory distress syndrome.
Enjoy these first wondrous cries — they signal that your baby’s respiratory and circulatory systems are making a successful transition from life inside your womb to life outside it.
Newborns may continue to cry because they’re shocked by the transition to the outside world. Skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding will offer them the comfort they’re asking for.
There sure are. The hours when your baby is more likely to cry are called the “witching hour” for good reason. You’ll probably notice the hours between 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. are most difficult for your baby.
These trying hours begin when your baby approaches 2 to 3 weeks of age. But, thankfully, they peter out when your baby reaches about 3 months old.
There’s no definitive answer as to why these predictable fussy periods happen, but most experts agree that a full day’s stimulation and lower maternal milk supply at night are big contributors.
You’re rocking a crying baby (again) and wishing you were anywhere else but here. What can you do to cope? Bury your nose in that soft spot in the nape of your baby’s neck and breathe in that heavenly scent. Then try these tricks:
- Calm down. Okay, this is easier said than done. But it’s worth the effort. Promise. Why does it work? It’s something called entrainment: We’re programmed to fall in synch with an external rhythm. That means that your baby’s breathing and heartbeat will naturally follow yours. So keep them slow.
- Cluster feed. During the witching hour, your baby may want to nurse every 30 minutes or more. That’s perfectly okay. Hopefully, by filling up their belly with cluster feeding, they’ll sleep for a longer stretch at night.
- Use a pacifier. All babies have a strong sucking reflex. You can try using a pacifier to calm your baby instead of offering your breast or a bottle. Not only will the sucking soothe your baby, but all that saliva that they swallow will help to break down the milk that’s already in their stomach.
- Offer skin-to-skin time. You can soothe your baby by holding your baby naked against your chest (red alert: keep the diaper on) so they can listen to your heartbeat.
- Check for tourniquet syndrome. Check that a hair hasn’t wrapped itself round your baby’s fingers, toes or genitals. The hair could constrict the blood flow and cause redness and swelling. It’s pretty rare, but keep your eyes open.
If your baby seems to cry uncontrollably often, here are a couple of things that you can investigate:
Reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can make your baby cry uncontrollably. If, during or after a feeding, your baby arches their back or is extremely wiggly; frequently spits up large amounts; or gets predictably fussy when lying on their back, you could be dealing with reflux.
Reflux happens when irritating stomach acids are regurgitated into the esophagus. You can sympathize with your baby by remembering what heartburn feels like.
Often babies with reflux will have the urge to suck, in order to self-soothe and wash down the heartburn. But beware: If reflux is the culprit of their fussiness, and they eat more, it can make the reflux worse. If you suspect reflux is causing your baby’s discomfort, offer a pacifier first before overfeeding.
Colic
Colic cries aren’t your average baby cry. Your pediatrician will diagnose your baby with colic if your baby cries for 3 or more hours a day, 3 or more days a week, for 3 weeks.
Colic usually starts when your baby reaches 6 weeks and ends by month 3 or 4. Your best bet to get through this oh-so-challenging stage is to master pediatrician Harvey Karp’s 5 S’s: swaddle, side-stomach position, shush, swing, and suck. We’ve got you covered in this comforting article.
Pain
As you learn to interpret your baby’s cry, you’ll be able to pick up a cry of pain. A cry that signals pain is usually high-pitched and insistent.
An earache, mouth ulcers, or diaper rash will all cause pain. Reach out to your doctor for a diagnosis. If your baby is less than 3 months old and has a fever, call your doctor.
We’ve all heard that crying is good for a baby’s lungs. Like all myths, it’s pretty entrenched in our consciousness. But is it true?
Nope. In fact, there’s no research to back this claim. But there’s plenty of research that shows that mothers who respond quickly and consistently to their babies crying are teaching their babies, “Yes, you matter, and what you want is important to me.”
Well-meaning family and friends may advise you to ignore your baby’s crying to make sure that they don’t get spoiled and demand to be picked up all the time. Ignore them. Experts agree that it’s not possible to spoil a baby.
Being a parent is probably one of the most fulfilling jobs you’ll ever have. It’s also one of the most demanding. Add to that a good few hours of crying and you’ll agree that you’re entitled to a break sometimes.
Try to have someone else (your partner, a family member, a friend) take over occasionally. Use the time to go for a walk or take shower. You can even curl up in bed, scroll through the baby pictures you’ve taken and remind yourself that you’re the best parent for your child.
Last medically reviewed on July 17, 2020