Problem: Infant colic is prolonged, intense, and persistent crying in a healthy infant. Approximately 20% of all infants in developed countries have colic. Research in developing countries has shown that infants who have been constantly carried by their mothers cry very little. Carrying an infant on the back of an adult is a common practice in developing countries. These women return to work soon after having a baby. Many of these women are migrating to developed countries and having babies. The purpose of this study was to determine what happened to infant crying among recent African immigrant mothers whose infants were born in the United States. Design and Methodology: A qualitative descriptive study was done. Eight mothers who reported that their infants cried a lot were interviewed. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The researcher asked 13 open-ended questions. The mothers were also encouraged to provide other helpful information. Analysis: The interviews were analyzed using the method of content analysis. Mothers reported that infants cried on average 97.5 minutes per day. Mothers reported feeling stress when they had to work outside the home. Findings included: (a) mothers continued to carry their infants, (b) mothers responded promptly to their infants’ crying, (c) mothers felt sad when their infants cried, (d) mothers breastfed ad lib, and (e) infants slept with their mothers at night. In other words, African mothers were always actively trying to prevent their infant’s crying from escalating. Relevance to Nursing: Although some crying occurred in these infants, it was not as much as typically occurs in a colicky infant; however, education is needed because these mothers were stressed by this crying, especially those who had to work outside the home. If American mothers were to adopt the practices of African mothers, possibly infant colic could be decreased.
Session #1222 - Undergraduate Submissions
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)