Mother reveals what the nine different baby cries mean

New mother reveals the secret to knowing what a newborn wants is understanding NINE different baby cries

  • Anna Shields, from California, revealed there are nine different baby cries, which all mean different things, in a recent TikTok video
  • These include if a newborn is hungry, sleepy, teething or uncomfortable 
  • She was using site First Discoverers, which outlines the cries with audio for them
  • Her video has gone viral with more than 1.3 million views and 119,000 likes  

A mother has gone viral on TikTok with a tutorial on the nine different newborn cries and what they mean – from the noise that indicates your baby needs burping to the sound that signifies they’re feeling sleepy. 

Anna Shields, from California, explained on her account @annashieldss that the cries are all indicators of the different moods and needs of a newborn, such as feeling hungry, sleepy, teething, uncomfortable, thirsty or in need of company.

The new mother said that other cries alert you to when they have a stomach ache, need to burp or feel that nothing is going right. 

Her post links back to an article from the website FirstDiscoverers, which has descriptions of the nine cries along with audio snippets.   

A mother from California has gone viral after revealing that there are nine different baby cries, which all indicate different things about what a newborn wants or needs 

The nine different kinds of newborn cries and what they mean 

  1. Jerky ‘Eh’ cry: Baby needs burping
  2. ‘Neh’ sound: Hungry
  3. ‘Aoh’ sound: Wants to sleep 
  4. ‘Heh’ sound: Uncomfortable 
  5. Sad ‘Lelaol’ sound: Wants company 
  6. ‘Guen’ accompanied by drooling: Teething 
  7. ‘Nah’: Thirsty 
  8. ‘Ouin’: Frustrated
  9. Hoarse ‘Éérh’ sound: Sore tummy

In the video, she said: ‘If you have a newborn or are going to have one soon, definitely watch this video. This is for you.’ 

She continued: ‘Newborns have nine different types of cries based on human reflexes.’

The article cited by Anna says that if a newborn needs to burp they will have a brief and jerky ‘Eh’ cry.

According to the article, this happens because their diaphragm lowers and the larynx closes.   

Anna shared that a hungry newborn will make a ‘Neh’ sound because their tongue sticks to their palate. 

Meanwhile, a sleepy newborn will make an ‘Aoh’ sound, opening their mouth widely while their tongue flattens and recedes. 

Meanwhile, an uncomfortable newborn will make a ‘Heh’ sound, which is particularly recognizable.

This cry may happen because the newborn is too hot, cold or in a position that they do not like. 

Another noise newborns will make is a ‘calm and sad’ one which sounds like ‘Lelaol’ when they need company. 

Elsewhere, the article says that teething newborns make the sound ‘Guèn’.

This sound will be accompanied by ‘increased salivation’.

Crying newborns who are thirsty will make a ‘Nah’ sound which happens while their tongue peels away from their palate. 

And those who feel like ‘nothing is going right’ will tense up while they make an ‘Ouin’ crying noise. 

The last sound is when they have has a sore tummy and makes an ‘Éérh’ sound, which will sound ‘hoarse, contracted, prolonged.’

Her post links to an article on First Discoverers which reveals the nine cries that newborns make and has audio clips attached to each one

Her post links to an article on First Discoverers which reveals the nine cries that newborns make and has audio clips attached to each one 

Racking up more than 1.3 million views and 119,000 likes, Anna’s video has been very popular with TikTik users. 

One commented: This, coupled with knowing the different hand postures when eating, nearing full and full, are really helpful.

‘Now I need a newborn to try it on.’

Another said: ‘This is amazing’ while others said ‘that is so true’ and ‘Yasss!’