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Big news for parents in the UK: British babies cry the most!


baby crying© Photo: iStock
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
April 5, 2017
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According to a new study, British babies cry more than anywhere else! In a universal crying chart which was published in the Journal of Paediatrics, 28% of British babies cried for more than three hours a day at least three days a week. Canada and Italy also had very high rates, while Denmark, Germany and Japan babies were proven to cry the least. Australia, the Netherlands and the US were also included in the research.

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The study involved around 8,700 babies and aimed to establish how common colic is around the world in babies under three months of age. Speaking about the discovery, lead researcher Professor Dieter Wolke from the University of Warwick said: "Babies are already very different in how much they cry in the first weeks of life – there are large but normal variations. We may learn more from looking at cultures where there is less crying and whether this may be due to parenting or other factors relating to pregnancy experiences or genetics."

baby crying© Photo: iStock
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He continued: "The new chart of normal fuss/cry amounts in babies across industrialised countries will help health professionals to reassure parents whether a baby is crying within the normal expected range in the first three months or shows excessive crying which may require further evaluation and extra support for the parents." According to the study, the reasons for the different levels between countries could be due to maternal soothing techniques, patterns of feeding or the style of the caregiver.

Peter Andre is among parents who have spoken about taking care of a crying baby, and recently opened up to HELLO! about raising baby Theo. He said: "I'm not as tolerant with the screaming as I used to be. Perhaps it's because I'm older, but my patience is a little less these days. Having Theo is still a wonderful joy, although I may have to retract my earlier statement that I couldn't wait to have another baby by the end of 2017!"

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