Why Babies Cry When Nothing is Wrong

Unexpained Infant Crying May Actually Be a Purple Crying Period

Nov 2, 2009

When an infant cries, it is often to communicate its needs. When a parent or caregiver has exhausted every other possibility, the baby may be experiencing Purple Crying.

Nature assures that babies have their needs met by crying. It can be an irritating sound, but if the sound of a baby crying was pleasant, adults would easily be able to ignore it. Babies generally cry when hungry, thirsty, tired, in need of a clean diaper, feeling sick, needing attention and closeness, and sometimes simply to release tension.

Sometimes a baby will cry and the parent or caregiver is unable to determine the reason. The baby is not hungry, thirsty, wet, too warm or cold, tired, bored or sick. None of the usual fixes stops the crying, sometimes leading the adult to despair. Dr Ronald Barr, infant crying expert, refers to this as The Period of Purple Crying.

Normally developing infants often show an increase in crying behavior starting at about two weeks of age. The crying can peak during the second month and begins to decrease between the third and fifth months. When a parent or caregiver has exhausted every other possibility as to why a baby is crying, it may be due to Purple Crying.

The Period of Purple Crying

The word PURPLE is an acronym developed by Dr. Barr to explain the typical aspects of a baby engaged in this type of crying behavior.

P for Peak Crying: The baby's crying generally peaks around the age of two months and typically decreases after that time.

R for Resistant to Soothing: No matter what a parent or caregiver may do, the baby may continue to cry. The very best of parents or caregivers are unable to stop the crying.

P for Pain-Like Face: Perfectly healthy, normal infants will appear to be in pain even though they are not.

L for Long Bouts: The episodes of crying can continue for 30 to 40 minutes and longer without stopping.

E for Evening Crying: The crying usually occurs more often in the afternoon and evening.

Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome

This type of infant crying can be very difficult for parents and caregivers. Long bouts of uninterrupted crying can lead to an adult losing control and shaking a baby in order to stop the crying. Shaking a baby can cause Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) , resulting in permanent brain damage and even death in infants.

It is extremely important that these adults take steps to prevent SBS by developing self-calming techniques and a safety plan to prevent a tragedy in case a baby is unable to stop crying for extended periods.

Even when a baby’s crying may fit the criteria for Purple Crying, it is always good practice to check with the baby’s primary care physician to eliminate other possible reasons for the crying behavior.

Barr, RG. "Early Infant Crying as a Behavioral State Rather Than a Signal" in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2004 August: 27(4):460.

The copyright of the article Why Babies Cry When Nothing is Wrong in Infant & Toddler Health is owned by Karen Corekin. Permission to republish Why Babies Cry When Nothing is Wrong in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.