Interventions to support parents whose babies cry excessively: systematic review

Context: Parents report that around 10-20% of babies cry a lot without an apparent reason during early infancy. This ‘excessive’ infant crying can lead to adverse outcomes, including parental depression, breastfeeding cessation, impaired parent–child relationships and, in extreme cases, infant abuse. Cost-effective parent-support services are needed. Objective: To assess the effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness, of interventions designed to support parents of excessively crying babies. Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, EconLit, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL and CENTRAL were searched from inception to 8th April 2025. The NIHR CRN database and handsearching were used to identify further studies. Study Selection: Comparative studies reporting parental outcomes for any intervention supporting parents of excessively crying infants aged ≤1 year were included. Data extraction: Two independent reviewers conducted data extraction and assessed risk of bias. Meta-analysis was performed when possible; otherwise, narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: Meta-analysis found that educational interventions significantly reduced parental stress or anxiety. Narrative analyses produced mixed findings, but components common to successful educational interventions were indicated. Meta-analyses of studies administering probiotics to infants found significant improvements in parents’ quality of life but not in parental depression. No safety data and limited economic evidence were found. Limitations: Few studies measured similar-enough parental outcomes to be pooled in meta-analysis. Risk of bias ranged from unclear to high-risk. Conclusions: Educational and probiotic interventions show promise for supporting parents of excessively crying babies. Additional controlled trials employing evidence-based interventions and outcome measures, and cost-effectiveness analyses, are needed to build on these findings.