Study: British, Dutch, Canadian infants biggest cry babies
Babies in Britain, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands cry the most, new research suggests. According to a study conducted among 8,700 babies in seven countries, babies born in these four places cry the most, while babies born in Germany, Japan and Denmark are the most content.
Globally, babies cry for around two hours per day in their first two weeks on average, the study suggests. Crying peaks at two hours 15 minutes at six weeks before reducing to one hour 10 minutes by week 12, according to the findings. But some babies were found to cry for as little as 30 minutes - and others for more than four hours - per day.
Shedding light on the research, Professor Dieter Wolke said among infants aged up to nine weeks 34.1 percent of Canadian babies cried for more than three hours a day for at least three days a week, and the figure stood at 28 percent of British infants and 20.9 percent of Italian babies. On the other hand, only 5.5 percent of Danish babies and 6.7 percent of German babies cry for more than three hours a day.
"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," said Professor Wolke, who is one of the leading scientists involved in the research.
The study was conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick and the results were published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Globally, babies cry for around two hours per day in their first two weeks on average, the study suggests. Crying peaks at two hours 15 minutes at six weeks before reducing to one hour 10 minutes by week 12, according to the findings. But some babies were found to cry for as little as 30 minutes - and others for more than four hours - per day.
Shedding light on the research, Professor Dieter Wolke said among infants aged up to nine weeks 34.1 percent of Canadian babies cried for more than three hours a day for at least three days a week, and the figure stood at 28 percent of British infants and 20.9 percent of Italian babies. On the other hand, only 5.5 percent of Danish babies and 6.7 percent of German babies cry for more than three hours a day.
"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," said Professor Wolke, who is one of the leading scientists involved in the research.
The study was conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick and the results were published in the Journal of Pediatrics.