Winnipeg -- André Picard wrote an extremely relevant article on colic that should make the task of parenting easier, or at least more understandable (A Crying Shame -- Dec. 24). Colic has always been with us and is a source of great distress to parents and those of us who study the newborn infant.

One aspect of trying to deal with colic that was not addressed is "formula switching." Often in exasperation, a parent or a family physician will switch an infant with colic from an iron-fortified formula (recommended) to a formula without iron (not recommended) in an attempt to "cure" colic. There is no evidence that this works but there is lots of evidence that infants who are formula-fed need to be consuming iron-fortified formulas only.

In fact, the risk of anemia becomes much greater in the infant receiving a non-iron fortified formula, and anemia may have negative effects on development that do not appear to be reversible in later life.

This is understandable if one considers that each and every cell in the body needs iron, particularly in a growing infant. So the message to parents who choose to formula-feed is: Make sure it's an iron-fortified formula. And switching to a non-iron fortified formula will not, I repeat will not, cure colic.

professor and head, Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba,