Rock-a-Bye Baby
U-M sleep researchers have found that babies born to moms with depression are more likely to have chaotic sleep patterns early on.
Recent research says that babies whose mothers experienced depression any time before they became pregnant, or developed mood problems while they were pregnant, are much more prone to having chaotic sleep patterns in the first half-year of life than babies born to moms who don't experience depression. The data, presented by a team of U-M sleep experts last fall at the European Sleep Research Society meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, and at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry annual meeting, is based on sleep studies involving two groups of new mothers and their babies.
"We think we've identified one of the risk factors that may contribute to these infants' going on to develop depression later in life," says Roseanne Armitage, Ph.D., the leader of the U-M Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory team at the U-M Depression Center. "Keeping a very regular sleep schedule is incredibly important," says Armitage. "We know this is true for both children and adults, and from this study we now know that for infants, the more stable the bedtime, the less chaotic sleep is during the night. Not everybody who has poor sleep or weak circadian rhythms will develop depression, but if sleep stays consistently disrupted and circadian rhythms are weak, the risk is significantly elevated." That's why, she says, it's so crucial to help all babies-and new parents-get the sleep they need.
This article appeared in the Jan/Feb 09 issue of the Women's Health Newsletter. Read the issue.
