Gripe water is a common over the counter preparation used for infants in many households in India. This number is as high as 64 % as per studies. Is gripe water really useful? Is it ok to use it on babies? Let us see in detail about gripe water usage in infants.
Gripe water is basically a combination of few herbs , sodium bicarbonate and sucrose. These are popularly believed to be good for digestion. In the past most commercially available gripe water formulations also had significant amount of alcohol in them. But after 1992, alcohol usage is banned in infant products.
What are its effects in a child’s body?
The main ingredient in most gripe waters is sugar / sucrose. This is the ingredient that provides that immediate soothing effect in babies. Sweet taste of sucrose is both distracting and soothening. But it has its own side effects like reducing hunger / appetite to take breast milk and has harmful effects on the erupting teeth.
Next ingredient is sodium bicarbonate. It is proven beyond doubt that hyperacidity is not a reason for infantile colic. Too much sodium bicarbonate can alkalinise the gastric secretions and lead to milk alkali syndrome where there is excessive calcium in the body and leads to kidney dysfunction .
The herbs in the preparation – whether they are useful for digestion or not is nullified by the harmful effects of the other ingredients.
What are the common reasons for giving gripe water to babies?
Studies have shown that mothers believe the following to be common reasons for them to give gripe water to their babies
- It helps in digestion
- It prevents stomach ache
- Insistence of elders
- It is good for sleep and overall health
Are the reasons justified?
- Does it help in digestion and prevent stomach ache ?
No. Excess alkalinisation of gastric juice can cause indigestion and paradoxically worsens colic. Infact a large scale study in infants less than 6 months of age had shown that babies taking gripe water on a regular basis cry more and are constipated more than babies who don’t.
- Why do elders insist on gripe water? Is it good for sleep and overall health?
Gripe waters used in olden days had significant amount of alcohol in them ranging from 3% to as high as 9 % in some brands. This high concentration can cause addiction even in adults. So whenever those gripe waters were used babies use to sleep well. But as you can understand its not a right thing to do to your child. Moreover currently available brands are all alcohol free and such an effect may not be observed anymore. Another important downside of gripe water is that it interferes with exclusive breastfeeding and reduces the amount of milk ingested by the baby thereby affecting weight gain.
All that a gripe water offers is a placebo effect. But we should keep in mind that it is not a completely safe placebo. The best way to deal with your baby’s colic is to understand that it is a part of their development and will go away with time. Follow your doctors advice to ease your little one’s discomfort and exclusively breastfeed them.
