Mom's Migraine Tied to Colic in Infants

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Children Whose Mothers Have Migraines More Likely to Develop Colic

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Migraine Tied to Colic

In the study, researchers compared the risk of colic in infants among 154 mother-and-child pairs. The mothers were surveyed at their child's 2-month-old well child visit at pediatric clinics in San Francisco.

The results showed nearly 29% of infants whose mothers had a history of migraine had colic, compared with 11% of those whose mothers did not have migraine.

In addition, infants whose fathers had a history of migraine were also more likely to have colic, but this relationship was not as significant as the mother-child link.

Researchers say that because migraine runs in families, asking about a mother's history of migraine and/or her child's experience with colic in infancy may help identify young people at risk for migraine later in life.

"This study helps to advance our understanding about the different expressions of migraine across a person's lifetime," Gelfand says.

The results will be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in New Orleans.

These findings will be presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

SOURCES: Gelfand, A. Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, New Orleans, April 21-28, 2012. News release, American Academy of Neurology.

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