Pediatrics Journal Publishes Surprising Baby Sleep Study

October 26th, 2010 - 3:57 am ICT by Angela Kaye Mason  

Oct 25 (THAINDIAN NEWS) New research shows some good news for the parents of newborns who may feel as though they will never get a full night’s sleep again. According to a study done by the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, babies will begin to sleep through the night at the age of two to four months.

Here’s the catch. While baby may begin to sleep for eight hours straight at that age, there is no guarantee that those hours will be at night. Jacqueline Henderson who is a post doctoral research fellow at the University explains:

“The most rapid changes in infant sleep were found to occur over the first four months of life. Previously, we underestimated infants’ capabilities for sleeping through the night, and we found that if an infant is sleeping for the traditional period of night sleep — five hours from midnight to 5 a.m. — then they are also sleeping for eight hours. Infants are most likely to begin sleeping through for this period at 2 months of age, with over 50 percent doing so at four months.”

Many infants won’t meet those milestones until at least a year old, however.

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