Postpartum depression is a phenomenon that affects many mothers who feel sad after their baby is born. Obviously, this state affects the care of the child, both day and night. According to a recent study Mothers with depression can disturb babies' sleep, since they are more susceptible to wake them up during the night while they sleep.
In a baby whose mother is depressed, her nighttime sleep is more likely to be interrupted unnecessarily, causing her sleep patterns to be altered. This is the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from the Pennsylvania State University and the Miller School of Medicine in Miami.
The way of sleeping of mothers and their babies between 1 and 24 months of age was analyzed to assess the effects of maternal depression on childhood sleep.
It is believed that the anxiety of these mothers for their babies leads them to wake them up several times at night, catch them, and interrupt their sleep to make sure everything is going well. And we are not talking about the normal concern we have for the parents of newborns, but of an excessive concern.
Instead, they have seen that mothers who were not depressed only looked for their son in the middle of the night if they cried.
The study authors believe that mothers with symptoms of depression experience high levels of anxiety about their baby's condition at night, and also that they need to maintain the bond with their child, even at night, to supply their emotional deficiencies and feel more safe.
In conclusion, the altered sleep patterns of the baby whose rest is interrupted at night can somehow predict the emotional state of the mother. It could be a signal to be considered by specialists when assessing the mental health of the mother.
