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More Sleep Could Help in Fighting Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is a part of new baby reality for many parents as they try to adjust to the major changes in life due to creating a new one. While many a new mommy has taken specific drugs designed to address postpartum depression, a new study finds that the she might just be tired. The Gant Daily News examined a study by Canadian doctors that pointed to the simple remedy of more sleep to help cut postpartum depression. Dr. Meir Steiner had various patient conversations with those who were fighting the mood disorder after giving birth. Many of these women expressed fear that they would have another bout due to tiredness from their previous pregnancy. Steiner, who is the founder of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic, then began advising women giving birth at the clinic to stay in the medical facility up to five days after their childbirth in order to rest. Women stayed in a private room, with the newborns in the nursery overnight. Based on the sleep theory, Steiner applied for a study grant in 2005 from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation. The focus of the study was to prove the theory that more sleep would help in the fight against postpartum. To test the theory, six other hospitals are participating in the same program. At the same time, the clinic is studying a new treatment for postpartum depression by giving estrogen and antidepressant medication to women who just gave birth. The results of this study will be compared against those of the sleep study to determine the best therapy for postpartum depression. While sleep could be the obvious answer for those new moms, trying to find enough of it once they return home could be another challenge. Coaching new mothers on setting schedules for baby and how to sneak naps when possible could be moving in the right direction for keeping postpartum depression at bay.

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