Sara writes:
Many babies at that age are still eating 1-2 times overnight but I can
understand more than that would make a working Mama very tired! There is a
large body of research on the adverse effects on mothers, children and
families of long term sleep deprivation.
~~~ I think part of the issue is that we aren't always clear that yes sleep
deprivation is indeed a difficult and sometimes dangerous thing but also
that sleep interruption and sleep deprivation are not the same. Babies who
are breastfeeding normally have moms whose bodies are capable of brief
awakenings to feed, then easily go back to sleep. Mom will get plenty of total
sleep. If babies are up for long periods with distress or inefficient
feedings, this rhythm can be disturbed, of course. The fact that a mom with a 6
month old has to focus on a full night of uninterrupted sleep because she
must leave this infant for the day, then take away night chances to get
emotional and physical nourishment needed at this age, to get up again the next
day, is in my opinion one of the great shames of US "maternity protection"
policies. The normal needs of infants to feed and be nourished at night
was written up recently in Pediatrics, stating that night feedings make an
important contribution to overall nutrition at least until 6 months, and I
think if we really look longer at normal human physiology and development,
the minimum might be more like 6-9 months. Some babies can push all their
needs to daytime hours ( possibly an evening nursing if baby isn't already
down for the night when mom gets home from work, or is that only where I
live...) but many would not do this naturally. I wonder about the long term
consequences of pushing development this way, in terms of understanding hunger
and satiety, and respecting one's own emotional needs.
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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