Normal, Human Infant Sleep: Feeding Method and Development

Infant sleep problems represent some of the most common concerns reported by parents of young children.  Ask any new parent and most will complain about lack of sleep. Many will also be worried that what they are experiencing isn’t “normal” and believe that their child has a problem that needs fixing.  So they search books, ask friends and family or even their doctors about what to do about a child’s problematic sleep patterns.  And to top it off, they feel immense anxiety and worry about them. 

Part of the epidemic of parental angst about children’s sleep is that we live in a culture in which parents are repeatedly told that they need to worry about their child’s sleep, that there will be dire consequences if their child doesn’t get enough sleep. Another problem is that most new parents, having had little experience with children prior to having their own, have little awareness about what truly is “normal” when it comes to infant sleep.