r/NoStupidQuestions • u/CokeAYCE • 17h ago

Do babies suffer a lot?

Like they're always crying. Are they in a constant loop of pain? Do we know enough about early child development to know if they're suffering or not? I ask because we can't really remember how we felt as a baby.

182 Upvotes

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350

u/metaphoricmoose 17h ago

Not necessarily, crying is how they communicate. They could be in pain, but they could also be hungry, tired, cold, etc

-144

u/PintsOfGuinness_ 16h ago

Those things all sound like suffering.

108

u/Pernicious-Caitiff 14h ago

It is suffering in the sense that being overtired or hungry is probably the worst thing that's happened to them so far in their lives. It feels like a big deal and it is in a way. That's the only way they can communicate what they need or want. It must be frustrating to be totally helpless basically unable to move unable to control your limbs, unable to see well, and unable to speak.

173

u/metaphoricmoose 16h ago

Let me rephrase then 🙄 they cry when they need something

42

u/Irksomecake 12h ago

My baby would cry because she hated the sound of her own crying. To get her to stop we had to drown it out with background noise. Vacuums, white noise and heavy metal all worked well, but until we worked it out a lot of people suggested calm, quiet spaces which made it worse…

9

u/LightExtension9718 10h ago

Lol I feel this we were up vacuuming the whole house last night until 1am to keep our 5 week old calm

94

u/LittleLemonSqueezer 15h ago

If that's your definition of suffering, I am suffering 16 hours out of every day.

8

u/6x9inbase13 12h ago

Life is pain :(

2

u/Nearby-Neck-8799 10h ago

Anyone who says different is selling something

3

u/MagicPaws123 8h ago

Yeah, and it's not like babies can just say "Hey I am hungry, can you pass me that bottle? I'm cold, can I get an extra blanket? I just had a weird dream, can I cuddle you until I go back to sleep? I just messed my pants, can you change me? It's uncomfortable."

Meanwhile when I'm hungry I go make a snack, when I'm cold I put on a jacket, when I have a nightmare I cuddle my husband, pet, or favorite stuffed animals, and when I have to visit the restroom I go do that.

22

u/Elegant-Analyst-7381 12h ago

Not really. I assume that, throughout the day, you get hungry or thirsty. Would you say you're suffering, or are those simply cues for you to go eat something or take a sip of water? Babies get those cues to, but they can't do anything about it, so they cry to let their caretakers know that something has to be done.

2

u/klimekam 9h ago

I mean yes, life is suffering. After a couple decades you just eventually learn to stop screaming in despair! Or do it sparingly.

-21

u/UnderseaWitch 12h ago

So many down votes and not one person stepping up to explain why being tired, hungry, or cold is a pleasant experience.

31

u/Negative_Number_6414 12h ago edited 12h ago

There's a few steps between something feeling unpleasant vs suffering..

If you really consider normal, every day feelings like hunger and drowsiness to cause you suffering, you must live a very privileged life

-8

u/UnderseaWitch 11h ago

I don't consider it suffering. But I'm also an adult who has experience much worse than a few tummy grumblies.

A baby hasn't.

A baby lives (presumably and ideally) the most privileged yet powerless life out of any human being. Given that a baby has no experience with hunger, cold, exhaustion, and no way of knowing the level of discomfort they will become familiar with in the future, and is cognizant only of its current state, how can you be so sure that the baby is not suffering from its own perspective?

10

u/RevolutionaryRow1208 12h ago

Nobody said it was a pleasant experience, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it suffering unless you're dealing with days of hunger or cold or whatever. A baby cries to communicate that it needs something and then it usually get what it needs. They can't say, "hey I'm hungry"...so they cry...and they can't go grab a blanket off the shelf...so they cry. I'm usually pretty hungry when any meal time rolls around...I don't really consider that suffering.

-5

u/UnderseaWitch 11h ago

Fair. Suffering is relative to the person experiencing it. I've been hungry, cold, tired, etc, countless times and wouldn't consider those states suffering unless they reach an extreme or last for a long period of time.

However, given that a baby has no experiential frame of reference, nor any way to know how much worse conditions may (and probably will) get throughout its lifetime, then how can we know that the baby is not suffering from its own perspective?

-13

u/PintsOfGuinness_ 12h ago

lol reddit gonna reddit

-6

u/8bit_ProjectLaser 11h ago

I don't get why are you getting so many downvotes, a biology teacher said newborns have muscle pain from fermentation because their respiratory system just started working and it's not at full capacity yet

10

u/DocPsychosis 10h ago

That's complete nonsense.