INFANT FORMULA QUIETS CRYING HUMAN NEWBORNS

Milk (Similac), sucrose (12% wt/vol), or water were delivered to cryin g normal newborns once per minute for 5 minutes, in a volume of 0.1 mL /delivery. Milk and sucrose markedly reduced infant crying, and this c alm persisted during the 3 minutes after substance delivery. Infants w ho received water were only marginally quieted, and this calm did not persist. Despite quieting agitated infants, milk did not cause them to bring their hands to their mouths during the period of milk treatment , whereas infants who received sucrose did bring their hands to their mouths. These data demonstrate that milk effectively quiets human newb orns, that its quieting effects endure, and that the mechanisms that q uiet and that underlie hand-in-mouth engagement are separable and inde pendent.