# Children and postpartum sleep

One of the largest causes of sleep disorders in women — and it can persist for years.



## Takeaways

- Expect the deprivation; plan the recovery.

- Re-screen for insomnia after the newborn phase.



The last trimester and the newborn period create a known window of sleep deprivation, insomnia, irregular schedules and circadian disorders. In some percentage of women those patterns persist — cohort data show parents' sleep not fully recovering for up to six years after the first child, most markedly in mothers, and insomnia persisting two years postpartum in many. Get through it, then go back and repair the patterns.

In one lab study men's top wake trigger was a car alarm; women's was a baby crying — though who actually gets up is heavily shaped by social roles, not just biology.



## Sources

- Long-term effects of pregnancy and childbirth on sleep satisfaction and duration of first-time and experienced mothers and fathers (Richter D, Krämer MD, Tang NKY, Montgomery-Downs HE, Lemola S, 2019)

- Trajectories of maternal sleep problems before and after childbirth: a longitudinal population-based study (Sivertsen B, Hysing M, Dørheim SK, Eberhard-Gran M, 2015)

---
Educational summary of published research, not medical advice. Screening scores are not diagnoses. If a score is elevated or you feel unwell, talk to a clinician.

SleepShred for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6802040541