Period of PURPLE Crying: A New Way To Understand Your Baby’s Crying  

The goal of the Period of PURPLE Crying is to save infants’ lives by educating parents, caregivers and others about a new way to understand prolonged, but normal – and often inconsolable – bouts of early infant crying.

This kind of crying usually starts in the second week of life, peaks at about two months and levels off at the fourth or fifth month. Some babies cry more than others, but all experience this stage of life.  

While it is a standard developmental phase, intense infant crying is often misunderstood, frequently causes frustration, and may lead to anger. Prolonged, intense crying has been scientifically proven to be a key trigger for shaking, which can result in death or severe, irreversible, lifelong brain damage. 

The Period of PURPLE Crying is the largest and most comprehensive shaken baby prevention initiative in the country.

This unique program seeks to create a understanding and a culture shift about the normalcy of intense early infant crying, the frustration that can accompany it, and how to cope. The PURPLE program also includes individual, in-hospital parent education and research-tested take home tools; a DVD and booklet to reinforce the key messages. 

PURPLE stands for:

• Peak of crying
• Unexpected
• Resists soothing
• Pain-like face
• Long lasting
• Evening

Through in-depth understanding and parental/caregiver behavior change, the ultimate goal is to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome and save infants lives.   

Shaken Baby Syndrome is currently among the leading causes of child abuse deaths in the U.S., responsible for more than 100,000 cases of head injury among infants and young children.  It is a pressing and preventable public health issue with a huge and enduring social, emotional, and economic implications.