The following is a live chat with Dr. Harvey Karp, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. He received the Ehrmann Fellowship to study crying and colic. This chat will be looking at his discoveries and learning how to calm a colicky newborn.
Happiest baby on the block!
Babies
This live chat event took place on November 12, 2002
Moderator: Dr. Karp is an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California. He was trained by some of America's top pediatricians, including Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. In 1981, he received the prestigious Ehrmann Fellowship to study crying and colic.
During our chat today, we'll be looking at his discoveries and learning how to calm a "colicky newborn". Please welcome Dr. Harvey Karp. Before the question line opens, I'd like to give you an opportunity to tell us a bit about yourself.
Dr. Karp: Thank you. I would say, "to make a colicky baby calm and a calm baby serene." All parents have two main jobs -- to feed their babies successfully and to calm their babies when the baby is upset. If you can do those two things you feel like a great parent. If you fail on either it is very disheartening.
What I discovered is that while it's an instinct to want to calm your baby, knowing how to calm your baby is a skill. And that's what I want to talk to people about today because the amazing thing that I've discovered, which I describe in my book and video, The Happiest Baby On The Block, is that all babies are born with a calming reflex which is virtually an off switch for the baby's crying. I would like to teach people today is how to activate that calming reflex.