Cries are the only language a newborn has. They are not all the same. Researchers in paediatric acoustics have shown that different cries carry different acoustic and rhythmic signatures, and that parents can learn to tell them apart with surprising accuracy in the first weeks.

The four most common cry classes are hungry, tired, gas / burp, and pain. Layered on these are attention seeking (a calmer, almost conversational cry), and discomfort (diaper, temperature, scratchy clothing). One Baby’s cry analyzer is trained on all of these classes and gives you a calm, plain suggestion rather than a verdict.

What helps most in real life is combining ear and eye. The body language paired with a cry is at least half the signal. A baby who is rooting and hand-to-mouth is almost certainly hungry. A baby arching and pulling legs up is almost certainly gassy. A baby suddenly shrieking after being still is almost certainly in pain.

None of this replaces a paediatrician. Persistent pain cries, fever, or feeding refusal deserve a phone call. The guide and the app exist to lower the temperature in the middle of a long night, not to replace medical advice.