Multiple mothers report that sleep is more dispersed than single-child moms, but the number of children does not appear to affect the quality of sleep for fathers, a study finds.
A total of 111 parents (54 couples and 3 mothers in lone parent families) took part in the study which features in the Sleep Journal.
The researchers found Samantha Kenny, a doctoral student at McGill University, and Marie-Hélène Pennestri, an assistant professor in the educational psychology and counseling department of participants ’sleep patterns for two weeks.
Mothers with one child reported less sleep and better quality than mothers with more than one child, although the total amount of sleep did not differ according to the number of children. They did not notice any difference in fathers.
“Experienced mothers thought their sleep was more scattered than first-time mothers. Tensions in the marital relationship could arise if childcare is one-sided and not discussed collaboratively, ”says Pennestri, who is also a researcher at Hôpital en santé mentale Rivière-des -Prairies (CIUSSS-NIM).
According to the researchers, interventions developed by health care providers that aim for equal distribution of childcare activities during the day and night could be helpful. These interventions should be tailored to each family member, depending on the situation.
As the next steps, the researchers aim to explain the differences between mothers and fathers, and find out why mothers with more than one child report worse sleep.
Source: McGill University