| Desperately seeking sleep? |
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| Your Life |
| Wednesday, 21 January 2009 14:23 |
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Dr Vikram Sarbhai, Senior Consultant, Respiratory Medicine, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre, New Delhi, says, “Post-delivery sleep deprivation mostly occurs because of the baby. To cope with sleep deprivation, it is scientific to have maternity leave so the woman can recuperate from the stress of delivery and prepare herself to look after the baby. A lot of times, the baby develops a sleep pattern. So the mother has to match her sleep pattern with the baby's. If she is not able to do this, she'll obviously be sleepier and will develop personality problems like anxiety, forgetfulness, irritability, difficulty in handling the baby and, in extreme cases, depression.†Sleep problem remedies have to be dealt at : - The patient's awareness level: About what problems she can have in sleep and how that is going to affect the maternal and child health - The societal level: Because unless it is proven that sleep problems adversely affect the health of mother and child, nobody will take notice. - The physician's level: As s/he will take care of the problem According to Dr Sarbhai, it's easier to get into a schedule when you know what you have to do. “There are two things which are important to make lifestyle changes post-delivery. One is awareness and the second is commitment. If you are not aware, you'll not do anything. Then again, a lot of people know they should sleep at the right time, go for morning walks, eat healthy, etc, but how many are actually committed to doing it? You'll be committed only if you're aware that serious problems can be caused by sleep deprivation and it could have a long term affect on your health as well as that of your baby.†DoctorSpeak Dr B Gitanjali, doctor of pharmacology and in-charge of the sleep disorder lab at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Pondicherry, says, “Post-delivery sleep deprivation is brought on by the need of the mother to get up and feed the baby. If she is deprived of sleep for one night, she will feel groggy the next day but will be able to cope with it. But if deprivation is prolonged, then it will affect day-to-day functioning, judgement will be impaired, decision-making skills and social interaction will be affected. Apart from extreme fatigue and irritability, women will experience body ache, burning sensation behind the eyes and lack of concentration. The only remedy is for mothers to get a sufficient amount of rest. They should ask their spouse or family members to help out so that they can get adequate sleep.†Get your baby to sleep Your darling newborn can't distinguish between day and night yet. She may sleep as much as 16 hours a day (or even more), usually for about three to four hours at a stretch. As she grows, her periods of wakefulness will increase. While you may initially have to fall into the pattern of sleeping when she sleeps at night and waking up for feeds whenever she's hungry, you can soon adjust her body clock toward sleeping at night. Always putting her in the crib for sleeping will help signal to her that this is the place for sleep. Avoid stimulation during nighttime feedings and diaper changes, try to keep the lights low, and resist the urge to play or talk with your baby. This will reinforce the message that nighttime is for sleeping. Don't be under the impression that if you keep your baby awake all day, she will sleep better at night. Research shows that tired infants often have more trouble sleeping than those who've slept adequately during the day. You can get your baby into a bedtime routine from as early as two weeks old. Try bathing or singing to help relax your newborn. It's fine to rock and cuddle your baby in the first few months so that your baby feels soothed. By two months, most babies are sleeping six to eight hours through the night. If your baby isn't sleeping through the night by four months or you're having problems getting your baby to go to sleep alone, and she's six months old, or older, then it's definitely time you tried our special sleep plan... M&B's Kiss and Retreat Sleep Plan: * Give her a warm bath and dress her in her bedtime clothes. * Feed her, ideally in her room, with the lights low. * Read her a story and then put her in her cot. * Make sure she's still awake. * Kiss her and say good night, then leave her to go to sleep. * If she cries, don't go to her immediately. Set a time you're comfortable with – say three minutes – before you go to her. Comfort her by stroking her face or tummy and giving her a kiss, but don't pick her up. Then leave again. * If she cries again, this time leave it about five minutes before going back. * Each time she cries, leave it a bit longer before going to comfort her. Spend the minimum amount of time settling her until she eventually falls asleep. * If she wakes in the night, follow the same routine. * For every night you follow the plan, increase the amount of time you leave your baby to cry. * Remember, don't be too hard on yourself. If at first you can't bear to hear her cry for more than 30 seconds, make that your initial time limit. |
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It seems motherhood and sound sleep are mutually exclusive. During the post-delivery months, you're going to be craving sleep like you once craved chocolate. M&B gets you the experts' eye view on that elusive, much-needed shut eye 