Crying

Newborn babies are not capable of crying for emotional reasons, but they share the same physiological properties of tears as mentioned above. For newborns, crying is a fundamental means of communication. Crying is not a matter of frustration caused by the baby's inability to express itself verbally—that would imply that the baby is aware of formal language but doesn't have the ability to use it. On the contrary, for the first few weeks crying is a reflexive property and is thought to have no emotional reasons. Newborns do not have the psychological capacity to hold an emotion such as fear or anger, so their cries are not a result of emotional imbalances. They are an A crying toddler may depend more on internal feelings and moods rather than physiological needs. (Anna Palma/Corbis) involuntary reaction to pain, hunger, and tiredness. Therefore, crying is the means by which the infant communicates these physiological imbalances to the caretaker.

Other physical imbalances may include excessive energy or tension in the muscles. Since newborn babies do not have a way to relieve stress, it is thought that crying is also a way for them to discharge the energy or tension.

The cries of a young newborn are short, high in pitch, and repetitive. They are short in duration due to the infant's underdeveloped lungs and muscles. The loudness and intensity of the cry can vary according to the newborn's needs. For example, crying due to hunger can be differentiable from crying due to pain. A hunger cry is rhythmic in nature which starts with a whimper and becomes louder and more sustained while a cry from pain starts with a shriek followed by a second of silence, as the baby gets a breath, and continues with more rigorous, high intensity cries. Studies have shown that mothers can identify the baby's need just by hearing the cry.