Biorhythms in the Nursery

Infant Sleep and Feeding

“…Researchers and health care providers should continue to seek current scientific information on the complexities of infant expression of sleep and feeding and the biopsychosocial influences that impact infant sleep states and patterns. Self‐regulation emerges from the newborn organizing his/her state of consciousness, his/her ability to maintain and change states, and the sensitivity of the caregiver in modulating the newborn's states and emotions (Barnard, 1999; Ramos, 2007; Thomas, 2007).…”

“…Infant sleep is a complex interaction of temperament, parent‐infant interaction, and biological rhythms that are uniquely programmed in each individual (Buswell & Spatz, 2007; McKenna, 2000; Thoman, Davis & Denenberg, 1987; Thomas, 1995, 2007, Thomas & Foreman, 2005). Infant feeding and sleeping through the night were the two most pressing concerns reported by new parents in the early 1980s (Wright, MacLeod & Cooper, 1983).…”