
Published 27 August 2015 in Developments: a newsletter for General Practitioners, produced by Children’s Health Queensland Primary Care Liaison team
The afebrile fussy baby is a complex, if common, presentation in the first few months post-birth. Thorough history and examination excludes the 5% who require investigations for underlying medical conditions; routine investigation is unnecessary.
Parents can be reassured that excessive crying usually passes around 16 weeks without harmful effects. However, clinicians need to know that these babies are at increased risk of:
- developmental and behavioural problems
- migraine in later childhood
- premature weaning
- child abuse.