I believe that the societal goal for a baby to sleep through the night
carries into adulthood.  I believe that the mothers whom I work with who
suffer so terribly from any interruption of night sleep are ones who as
infants were seen as "good babies" because they slept through early.

Now that they are supposed to meet the needs of a normal infant, they can't
make the shift.  They see an uninterrupted night's sleep as essential to
health and they have grown dependent on it. They are proud when they talk
about their need for 8-10 hours sleep at night in order to function in the
day time.  And they blame the baby for interfering with their needs.

At home visits, I have had grandmothers comment proudly on their daughters
life-long good sleeping habits, while they express concern that feeding the
baby at night is taxing their daughters beyond health. "She was sleeping
through the night at one month.  Her first couple of years, I put her to
bed at 7 PM and she slept soundly until 7 AM."

And, of course, she probably had a couple of good, long naps in the day time.

Of course, the Peds, if they were good little boys, were praised for the
same accommodation of their parents' need to be uninterrupted by infants at
night. So they reinforce the un-natural goals. "Is she sleeping through the
night?"


Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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