Got a crying baby? There’s an app for that

An app called the “Infant Cries Translator” claims to be able to tell you why your baby is crying.

“The researchers were able to analyze the frequency of individual cries and screams with over 100 newborn babies,” said DeAnn Davies, director of Early Childhood Outreach with Summit Health Care. “That shows an analysis of babies cries and helps parents understand whether that’s a hunger cry, a sleepy cry or a pain or wet-diaper cry.”

The app uploaded over 200,000 sounds from the 100 babies into a database that loses accuracy after the first two weeks of the infant’s life.

“In that first two weeks of age, we encourage parents to look at the babies cues prior to the cry, first and foremost,” Davies said.

Using those cues, parents learn by trial and error what their baby needs and wants before they get to a state of distress, she said. This trial and error is a crucial building block in the child’s development that the parent and baby will depend on as they grow together.

“Parents have to try with their baby, and the baby responds in a way that leads the parent to try a different way,” Davies said.

Don’t trust an app for that, she said.

“Don’t let this get in your way,” Davies said. “Don’t look for the quick answer between you and your newborn in the first two weeks of life.”

Relax, and enjoy that baby, said Davies.

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