Rocking the cradle around the clock? Desperately seeking
dreamland?
Sleepless parents will have new tools to help their sleepless
babies, thanks to a study being launched by University of
British Columbia researchers.
Wendy Hall, a professor of Nursing, in collaboration with
the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA), is launching
an infant sleep pilot program to help parents resolve night
waking and crying problems in 6-12 month-old babies.
It is the only nursing study of its kind ever undertaken
in Canada.
"We want to find out if a structured sleep program is
useful in addressing babies’ sleep problems," says Hall.
"We hope to create a toolbox of information and practices
that can be distributed across Canada and help everyone get
a good night’s sleep."
All babies wake at night, says Hall. Common reasons for frequent
waking and crying include lack of daytime and bedtime routines
as well as babies associating sleep time with feeding and
cuddling. No infant sleep programs exist in Canada even though
sleep problems account for 30 per cent of calls to the VCHA
Newborn Hotline, adds Hall.
Community health nurses will recruit 36 parent couples for
the study, from the region served by the Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority, including Vancouver, Richmond and the North
Shore. Couples will be selected from callers to the VCHA hotline
that provides free advice and assistance to new parents.
Researchers will measure the infants’ sleep patterns and
temperament before the structured program is begun. Parents
will answer questions on issues such as fatigue and relationship
stress and attend a two-hour session to learn about infant
sleep cycles and positive bedtime routines. They will also
learn techniques such as controlled comforting where parents
settle their baby at fixed intervals that are gradually increased
until the infant learns to fall asleep quickly and routinely.
Researchers will follow-up with parents for 16 weeks. Preliminary
study results are expected in September.
Note to editors: We can provide VHS Video footage of both
a sleeping baby and a parent interview.
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