A new study suggests that moms who suffer from depression when their children are born are at risk of having babies with severe sleep issues. These kids also are more likely to suffer with depression during early childhood.

Infants born to depressed mothers took longer to fall asleep at night during the first six months. They also had frequent but much shorter periods of sleep during the day.

Researchers believe that if these infant sleep problems are not addressed they can lead to bigger problems as the child gets older. These issues can affect the child's mental and physical health as well as the mother's. If her baby's sleep problems continue it could harm the mother's health due to her loss of sleep.

If you believe that you are suffering from depression seek help right away. Counseling and medication can help keep your depression under control. There are also safe medications that pregnant women can take to treat depression. Talk to your doctor about your treatment options.

As mothers it is our responsibility to take control of our own health first. Only after we are able to take better care of ourselves will we be able to take care of our children.




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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Infants born to mothers with depression are at increased risk for sleep disturbances from 2 to 24 weeks of age, according to a report in the May issue of Sleep. Whether this places the infants at greater risk for childhood depression remains to be determined.

The findings are based on a study of 18 healthy, full-term infants who had their sleep habits evaluated with actigraphy for 7 consecutive days on a monthly basis. In addition, the subjects’ mothers kept daily sleep/wake diaries. The Doctor Channel.com

Maternal Depression Influences Infant Sleep
By Rick Nauert, Ph.D. Senior News Editor
A recent study suggests babies born to mothers with depression are more likely to suffer from significant sleep disturbances at 2 weeks postpartum that continue until 6 months of age.

Findings of the study are of particular importance, as sleep disturbances in infancy may result in increased risk for developing early-onset depression in childhood. Psych Central.com

Maternal depression is associated with significant sleep disturbance in infants
Westchester, Ill. -- A study in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests that babies born to mothers with depression are more likely to suffer from significant sleep disturbances at 2 weeks postpartum that continue until 6 months of age. Findings of the study are of particular importance, as sleep disturbances in infancy may result in increased risk for developing early-onset depression in childhood.

Results indicate that infants born to mothers with depression had significant sleep disturbances compared to low-risk infants; the high-risk group had an hour longer nocturnal sleep latency, shorter sleep episodes and lower sleep efficiency than infants who were born to mothers without depression. Although average sleep time in a 24 hours did not differ by risk group at eight two or four weeks, nocturnal total sleep time was 97 minutes longer in the low-risk group at both recording periods. High-risk infants also had significantly more daytime sleep episodes of a shorter average duration. Science Blog