Babies Have Inconsistent Sleep Patterns: Parents Need Not Worry

Once the baby reaches six months of age, new parents expect their baby to sleep through the night.

A new study led by McGill Professor Marie-Helene Pennestri states parents should view sleep consolidation as a process instead of a milestone that will be achieved after reaching a particular age. The study included 44 infants who were monitored for a period of two weeks. She found that the sleeping pattern varied greatly not only from baby to baby but also from night to night for the same baby.

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‘New parents expect their baby to have a sound sleep throughout the night. Sleep patterns vary from infant to infant every night. Mothers who are breastfeeding and co-sleeping are more likely to observe their infants night awakenings’
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In the study published in Sleep Medicine, the researchers asked the mothers to keep a sleep diary for their six-month-old infant for a span of two weeks. On average, mothers reported that their baby slept for 6 hours consecutively for about 5 nights and 8 consecutive hours for three nights. Half of them slept for 8 hours consecutively.

" Although previous research has shown that infants start sleeping through the night at different stages of development, little is known about individual sleep patterns night after night ," says Marie-Helene Pennestri, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University and researcher at the Hospital en sante mentale Riviere-des-Prairies (CIUSSS-NIM).

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Breastfeeding and co-sleeping were associated with more variability in sleep patterns. Mothers who are breastfeeding and co-sleeping are more likely to observe their infants’ night awakenings. These night awakenings are not necessarily disturbing or troublesome.

Pennestri said,” Parents are often exposed to a lot of contradictory information about infant sleep. They shouldn't worry if their baby doesn't sleep through the night at a specific age because sleep patterns differ a lot in infancy. One important piece of the puzzle is understanding parents' perceptions and expectations of infant sleep. In future research, we hope to explore what sleeping through the night' really means to them. "

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