A new clinical trial suggests that a daily dose of a Probiotic may ease digestive upset in babies.

Italian researchers randomly assigned 468 infants less than a week old to receive either a daily oral dose of Lactobacillus reuteri or an identical tasting placebo. Parents recorded the daily frequency of bowel movements and spitting up as well as the amount of time babies cried inconsolably. Investigators followed the families with weekly phone calls or personal meetings. The study appears online in JAMA Pediatrics.

After one month, the babies who got the probiotic showed a significant decrease in crying time and an increase in frequency of bowel movements compared with those who got the placebo. By three months, their frequency of spitting up was reduced as well.

The babies taking the probiotic had fewer emergency department visits and needed less medication for stomach problems. Their parents lost fewer days of work, and there were no adverse side effects. The results were adjusted to account for the effects of breast or bottle feeding, vaginal or cesarean delivery, and other factors.

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