It has long been an undeniable truth that breastfeeding has a beneficial effect on the health of the baby and mother. And how the joint sleep in one bed affects their condition, American scientists from Northwestern University tried to find out.
Scientists have studied the optimal daily rhythms of stress hormones in women. The optimal rhythm is when the level of the stress hormone cortisol is high in the morning to prepare a person for the events of the day and possible stress factors, and low in the evening, which allows a person to sleep peacefully.
Previous studies have shown that cortisol levels during pregnancy increase and decrease immediately after birth, but few scientists have looked further into the later postpartum period.
A new study analyzed saliva samples from 195 women six months after giving birth. Samples were collected immediately after morning awakening, 30 minutes after waking up and before bedtime.
The optimal amount of stress hormones was identified in those women who breast-fed a baby but did not sleep with him in the same bed. They had the sharpest decrease in cortisol levels by evening, which scientists have always associated with good health. The worst indicator was among those who shared their bed with a child and did not breastfeed.
The data obtained confirm the recommendations of experts in the field of public health - to keep children breast-fed and put them to bed in their own bed. A combination of both is especially beneficial for the mother.
