Community› The Bump Message Boards› Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
New Discussion

BFing mothers get more sleep (article)

ibisibis member
in Breastfeeding

My wonderful LC just sent me a newsletter about BFing, co-sleeping, and nursing in bed. It included this information --

 In a study of mothers and fathers at three months postpartum, data were collected via wrist actigraphy and using sleep diaries (Doan et al., 2007). The study compared sleep of exclusively breastfed infants vs. those supplemented with formula. In this sample, 67% were fed exclusively with breast milk, 23% were fed a combination of breast milk and formula, and 10% were exclusively formula fed. Mothers who exclusively breastfed slept an average of 40 minutes longer than mothers who supplemented. Parents of infants who were breastfed during the night slept an average of 40 to 45 minutes more than parents of infants given formula. Parents of formula-fed infants had more sleep disturbances. They concluded that parents who are supplementing with formula under the assumption that they are going to get more sleep should be encouraged to breastfeed so they will get an extra 30-45 minutes of sleep per night.

The most recent study was published in the journal Sleep, a major sleep-medicine journal not necessarily known for their support of breastfeeding. This was a study of 2,830 women at 7 weeks postpartum (Dorheim et al., 2009). They found that disrupted sleep was a major risk factor for postpartum depression. But here is where it really gets interesting. When considering what disrupted sleep, they found that the following factors were related to disturbed sleep: depression, previous sleep problems, being a first-time mother, a younger or male infant, and not exclusively breastfeeding. In other words, mothers who were not exclusively breastfeeding had more disrupted sleep and a higher risk of depression. 

https://www.ibreastfeeding.com/content/newsletter/nighttime-breastfeeding-and-maternal-mental-health 

Report Reply to Post

Re: BFing mothers get more sleep (article)

  • PAmiler82PAmiler82

    Interesting!  The section you quoted doesn't mention if the BFing mothers were broken down by bed-sharing vs. not.  However, I followed the link and saw that  I different study in the article found:

    "When comparing whether bedsharing made a difference in total sleep, they found that bedsharing, breastfeeding mothers got the most sleep, and breastfeeding mothers who were not bedsharing got the least amount of sleep. Mothers who were bottle-feeding got the same amount of sleep whether their babies were with them or in another room

    I was a BFing non-bed sharing mom.  I certainly felt like I was getting less sleep!  And I completely buy into the disrupted sleep being a risk factor for PPD.  I struggled with extreme baby blues (or mild PPD, whatever you want to call it) and I definitely attribute the worst of it to losing sleep.

    Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • BabyGurlE1BabyGurlE1
    Great read, thanks!
    Report Reply
  • Jenice32Jenice32
    Very interesting. I bedshare and breastfeed and I'm tired - I can't even begin to imagine how FF mothers must feel.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • NoBeautyQueenNoBeautyQueen member
    I have no idea how I'd function during the day if it weren't for nursing and bed-sharing!
    imageimage
    Report Reply
  • Tess12Tess12 member
    I believe it.  I'm supplementing due to supply issues.  Last night was the first time he hasn't needed a bottle in the middle of the night.  He got a supplement at 10pm and one again at 7am, but in between I just nursed him in bed and everyone got more sleep.  It was blissful.
    Report Reply
  • mjclevemjcleve member
    imagePAmiler82:

    "When comparing whether bedsharing made a difference in total sleep, they found that bedsharing, breastfeeding mothers got the most sleep, and breastfeeding mothers who were not bedsharing got the least amount of sleep. Mothers who were bottle-feeding got the same amount of sleep whether their babies were with them or in another room

    I was having a hard time believing the article until this was pointed out!

    imageLilypie Fifth Birthday tickersLilypie Third Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • maggie515maggie515 member
    I had the hardest time having my son in bed with us, I would wake up pushing poor DH cause I was dreaming that he rolled over and crushed baby! He always slept in the bassinet next to my bed, never actually in my bed, I would fall asleep nursing him, wake up put him back in the bassinet and fall back asleep. I woke up one night holding DH head in my hands. My dreams were very vivid. even months after moving him to the crib in his room I'd attack DH. Its crazy to think about and we have some good laughs over it now, but at the time it was disturbing for both of us. This second go around DH asked me to please never put the baby in bed while sleeping. only to feed and put back in the bassinet once done. I think for our situation that would work better for everyone! Im hoping I dont do it again.. But the article was AWESOME!
    Report Reply
  • JAWMINJAWMIN member
    one of the best parts about bfing is that when you are tired your milk has a hormone that makes the baby sleepy.

    W (02/2009), N (08/2012), and C (04/2014)
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"