Until they learn to speak, children need other ways to communicate and crying is the way babies express themselves; The problem is that their parents do not always know how to interpret this non-verbal language and generally consider it an alarm signal that indicates that their little one is in pain or needs something that they do not know about. This makes them anxious and, what is more worrying, they are not always able to meet their child’s needs.
A new investigation carried out by scientists from the Neonatology Service of the Hospital Clínic Barcelona and the IDIBAPS, in collaboration with the health technology startup Zoundream AG specialized in crying analysis, has managed to classify each type of crying and attribute certain characteristics to it based on the acoustics, electroencephalography (EEG) signals, cerebral regional oxygen saturation (NIRS), facial expressions and body movements, among other aspects.
Researchers have highlighted the complexity of newborn babies’ crying and claim that their analysis can become an objective and reliable tool for parents to better understand their baby and improve the relationship between both parties. The results of the work have been published in Science Direct.
Characteristics of the different types of baby crying
Babies cry an average of between one and a half and three hours a day and their crying can have important effects on their parents, who experience everything from anxiety or depression, to helplessness, anger and frustration, which negatively influences the bond. affective with the baby and could affect his care and the child’s neurological development process.
The research included 38 healthy newborns without congenital anomalies or notable diseases, selected from the Maternity Hospital at Clínic Barcelona. EEG, NIRS, audio, and video data were collected from each baby while spontaneously crying, which were used to define different types of crying that occurred due to different situations, such as hunger, sleep, restlessness, gas, and stress. The data that has been studied has significant implications for the bond between the baby and her parents and can also help improve her medical care by understanding the first communicative attempt of newborns.
Crying due to hunger is constant, rhythmic, short-lived, intense and loud, and can generate various facial expressions and body movements to attract the attention of the caregiver.
The main findings have shown how each type of crying is characterized by different acoustic, neurophysiological and behavioral patterns. For example, hunger crying is constant, rhythmic, short-lived, intense and loud, but not high-pitched, and can generate various facial expressions and body movements intended to attract the caregiver’s attention.
The cry of anguish has few pauses, is erratic and more acute. While crying due to gas is similar to the latter, but hoarser, due to the tension exerted on the vocal cords. Crying for sleep is long-lasting, with prolonged and monotonous cries that present a clear decadent melody, while crying for attention is very similar, although it seems more like a lament than a real cry and its interpretation depends a lot on the context in which it occurs. whoever shows up.
This novel work sets a precedent in the study of crying analysis and ensures that this expression triggers a complex communicative process in the baby that involves neurophysiological and behavioral patterns that help differentiate the types of crying associated with different needs or moods in the newborn. Its conclusions will contribute to deepening the interpretation of crying and, above all, to highlight the clinical potential of crying analysis as an objective and accessible tool to improve the relationship between parents and children and to guarantee the well-being of the family and the development of the child. newborn.
Source: Clínic-IDIBAPS
