Maternal care experts have urged new mums to try to get enough sleep after delivery, noting that not getting enough sleep daily can affect the ability of the mother to adequately function and also interfere with breast milk production.
Speaking with DOPEEXCLUSIVE HealthWise, the experts noted that despite the burden and stress of caring for a newborn, getting the required six to eight hours of sleep per day is necessary for both the health of the mother and the child.
The midwives who spoke with DOPEEXCLUSIVE HealthWise also noted that lack of sleep has some effect on a woman’s mental health as it can either be a risk factor for postpartum depression or even postpartum psychosis in rare cases.
Speaking with our correspondent, a midwife, Ms. Taiwo Olugbade said, “Nursing mothers are supposed to get at least eight hours of sleep like every other person but we know that the demands of a newborn are huge.
“So, in that period, some of them will start having sleepless nights, headaches, and many other things. This is the time when they need the help of in-laws, neighbours, family members, sisters who can assist within a few days of birth so that they can rest.”
She noted that the rigours the new mums underwent both during pregnancy and childbirth are quite enormous, hence the need for adequate rest so that they can fully recover.
Olugbade, who is also the Assistance Head of the Reproductive Unit at the Lagos State Ministry of Health also pointed out that a woman’s inability to rest adequately can also affect her ability to produce breast milk as her body system would be overworked.
Buttressing this further, a Senior Nursing Officer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Mrs. Amaka Okafor said, “A breastfeeding mother must have adequate sleep per day because during the puerperal period, like two weeks after delivery, there’s a kind of stress to the brain that a woman who is not getting enough sleep may have problem with the release of the hormone that is responsible for pushing the breast milk down.
“So adequate sleep is a necessity during breastfeeding because it will help increase the flow of the breast milk.
“Getting enough sleep also helps with the mental health of the woman because during the puerperal period, – (the time after birth when the physiologic changes related to pregnancy return to the nonpregnant state) the woman may not have enough help. At some point, some people suffer what we call puerperal psychosis.”
Okafor clarified that getting the required number of hours of sleep per day as a new mum doesn’t have to be getting it at a stretch, noting that once the baby is asleep, no matter how busy the mother is, she should try and catch a nap.
“Few minutes, hours, try to sleep at the same time as the baby is okay. It might not be at a stretch, they need it, no matter how small,” said the midwife.
The experts also stressed that the support of the family is needed to protect the new mom against postpartum health challenges, especially in the first six weeks after the birth of the child.
“Family support is very important. In most cases, if the family is not supportive, and the husband in any way at all is also not supportive, depending on the number of children in the family, you would see that the stress will increase for the new mom while she is trying to care for the other family members and the new one.
