Infant sleep myth put to bed at last

The “gold standard” target that a baby should sleep through the night before the age of one has been smashed by experts.

Nicole and 10mth old Joe Brock at their home in Shailer Park.Friday November 16, 2018. (AAP image, John Gass)

THE “gold standard” target that a baby should sleep through the night before the age of one has been smashed by experts.

Stressed mums are often asked, “Isn’t your baby sleeping through yet?” but a study in December’s Pediatrics journal has found 43 per cent of healthy babies don’t sleep for eight hours straight by the time they’re 12 months old, without any negative effects.

The researchers examined whether infants who didn’t sleep for six or eight consecutive hours were more likely to have problems with physical skills, such as movement and dexterity, or mental development. They found no correlation.

The researchers also found no link between infants waking at night and mothers’ post-natal mood.

Sleep data was gathered for 388 infants aged six months and 369 aged 12 months. At six months, according to mothers’ reports, 38 per cent of typically developing infants were not yet sleeping at least six consecutive hours at night, and more than half (57 per cent) weren’t sleeping for eight hours straight.

At 12 months, 28 per cent weren’t sleeping for six hours, and 43 per cent weren’t sleeping for eight hours.

Queensland midwife and baby sleep consultant Amanda Bude said understanding the normal sleep needs and variations for babies after six months was important for reassuring parents.

“The maturation of sleep cycles can be very unpredictable, even up to one year,” she said.

“Sleeping through the night is not 12 hours straight, it’s a four to six-hour block, have a feed, then two to three-hour blocks.”

The Canadian research also found that at six months, more girls than boys slept for eight hours.

“Our findings suggest parents might benefit from more education about the normal development of, and wide variability in, infants’ sleep-wake cycles, instead of only focusing on methods and interventions,” said lead researcher Marie-Helene Pennestri from McGill University in Montreal.

Queensland’s Nicole Brock says her 10-month-old, Joe, wakes about three or four times a night.

“I try not to get too stressed out about it,” she said. “I think he will find his pattern when he is ready. No two babies are the same.”