Therapeutic touch reduces crying in babies with colic

Babies with infantile colic cry a lot. It is hard for parents to watch. A study looked at a gentle approach called therapeutic touch. This method uses caring touch based on Watson's Human Care Theory. Ninety-six infants aged four to eight weeks took part. They were seen in a hospital outpatient pediatric unit. The babies received touch therapy three times per week for one or two weeks. The other group received usual care only. Researchers watched crying time and sleep time for eight weeks. The results were clear. Babies who got the touch therapy cried less than those in the control group. They also slept more. Scores on the Infant Colic Scale improved for the treated babies. The differences between groups were large and statistically significant. No adverse events were reported. The study found strong evidence that this gentle care helps. It offers a new way to support families dealing with the stress of colic.