Almost all parents can say that sleep deprivation is one of the biggest things that new parents have to deal with. During your baby's first few months, they will surely have erratic sleeping habits, and can thus leave you and your husband extremely tired and in need of some well-deserved rest.
While most parents just bear with sleep deprivation and hope for the best, a severe lack of sleep can endanger both you and your newborn baby.
Lack of sleep can endanger your baby
Numerous studies have discovered that for the first few months of taking care of their infants, mothers can have problematic sleeping habits. That's because they need to feed the baby, make sure that they're safe, and put them to sleep if they suddenly wake up in the middle of the night.
And for the most part, getting a full night's sleep is next to impossible if your newborn keeps waking up. This leads to a lot of problems since a lack of sleep can leave parents extremely tired and can hamper their ability to take care of their newborn.
This stress is compounded for stay-at-home moms, who along with taking care of the baby, also takes care of the household. Being exhausted during the day can affect their decision-making skills, which can then endanger your baby since your brain isn't in tip-top shape.
Lack of sleep can also endanger your health
Additionally, a severe lack of sleep has a lot of negative effects on your health.
Sleep helps people recharge, lowers stress levels, and refreshes and boosts your energy. A lack of sleep, on the other hand, increases your stress levels, causes severe tiredness and exhaustion, causes depression, lowers your immune system, and can even increase your risk of getting heart disease.
That's why for new parents, it's important to try and get as much sleep as you can. It's hard to get a full night's rest every day, but always remember that you can hire a nanny, or ask a close friend or relative to take care of your newborn, even just for a night. That way you can catch up on some much-needed rest.
Taking naps in the day is also pretty helpful, and you and your spouse should share the responsibility of watching over your beloved baby. That way while one of you stays awake and takes care of the baby, the other one can rest.
Being a parent doesn't need to be a stressful experience, so long as you know how to manage your time and to utilize all your resources.
Sources: babble.com, pbs.org, healthline.com
READ: Second Night Syndrome: What new parents need to know