MOTHER & BABY

Baby

 

Controlled crying has long-term benefits

Amelia Bloomfield
Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A Melbourne study into the long-term effects of controlled crying has found this controversial method of settling improves infant sleep, causes no problems in later childhood and can even reduce mothers’ depression levels.

Also known as controlled comforting or camping out, the parent-led behavioural techniques included in the study used a variety of step-by-step strategies to teach infants over six months of age to self-settle.

Controlled comforting involves parents responding to their baby’s cry at increasing time intervals to support them to fall asleep by themselves — there is no picking up, patting or rocking and results are usually seen in a matter of days.

Camping out is a more gradual method that has the parent sitting with the child as they fall asleep, slowly increasing their distance from the cot over a period of days or weeks.

Researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute followed 225 children and their families over five years to track the mental and behavioural health of the children as well as the mothers’ depression levels.

The world-first study found there had been no negative impact on those who’d been exposed to the settling techniques between the ages of eight and 10 months compared to those who had not.

Infant sleep problems are reported by up to 45 percent of new mothers and will double the risk of maternal depression problems, according to the study. The spin-off benefits of better baby sleep are improved parent sleep and mental health, and healthier parent-child relationships.

Just published in Paediatrics journal, the study acknowledged that widespread but unfounded doubts about the safety of controlled crying had resulted in vigorous debate and the reluctance of some families to try the method.

Following the positive outcomes of the study, lead researcher Anna Price said parents should feel reassured that these sleep interventions are effective, especially as a strategy to manage postnatal depression.

"Using sleep techniques like controlled comforting with babies from six months helps reduce both infant sleep problems and the maternal depression associated with the baby's sleep problems, and these effects are still apparent up to two years of age," Dr Price said.




We asked two real mums to discuss the choices they’ve made when it comes to settling their children to sleep. Read their different takes on the issue in Mum to mum: controlled crying

User comments
Can I have the name of the study so I can read it for myself? I'm not a fan of controlled crying yet get a lot of people telling me I should do it with my son. I would like to read the actual study so I can make my own judgements on this article. Thanks.
I am a mum of two. By the time my youngest baby was 5 months old he had NEVER slept for more than 15 minutes unless he was attached to the boob or in my arms. My son, I believed, was a very irritable baby. Finally realising that no amount of breastfeeding, rocking, co-sleeping and holding him would help him settle into having the sleep HE AND I needed I sought help. I attended a parent and baby unit (aka sleep school) for a day program and then an inpatient unit. After the process of "teaching" my baby to settle and sleep started to show effects I saw I whole new content, happy and playful side to my baby - he was no longer sleep deprived. Sleep schools I attended with my son taught me that there are many, many methods to try to help babies sleep, including forms of controlled crying. If in doubt seek professional health. Babies need sleep to grow and develop and you can help them learn
Do what you are comfortable with and what works for you. I find it frustrating when people adhere strongly to a viewpoint and criticise those who hold a different view when it comes to how to raise infants. If an infant is brought up in a loving home, none of the other details have an impact. Please listen to all of the advice and then just do what works for you!! Being a parent is the toughest job in the world and we need to support eachother and not criticise. To all the new mums out there struggling with exhaustion, hang in there, it get's easier!
This is to Kat, you let your child scream for 2 hours without even checking on her.... What is wrong with you, what if there had been something very wrong with your baby, what if when she stopped crying it was becuase something had happened and you weren't there. Come on mums and dads baby's cry that is how they communicate, i never did controlled crying with my son now 12 months he never had issues with sleeping, if he woke i would just rock his bassinett for a few minutes at the most and he would be back to sleep and that was only half a dozen times. I must say its become a sad world when we let our babies cry and cry and we turn a deaf ear to it.... Shame on any parent who allows this to happen and agree with another reader if you cant suck it up and comfort your baby when they cry dont have one and get a dog.
I have worked in early childhood for many, many years and each child and parent is different but I have yet to meet a child that has psychological problems from controlled crying. These parents love their children just as much as those that rock their children to sleep. ALL the children that I have ever come across that have done controlled crying (and thats a lot) were happy well adjusted kids that slept all through the night and their parents were happy and rested and were able to give them all of their energy. Children, especially babies respond to the feelings of their parents so stressed, run down and tired parents equals a stressed run down and tired baby. Look at sleep schools that have doctors, specialists and paediatricians they all recommend controlled crying, saying its nearly a form of abuse or neglect is a bit ridiculous.
I controll cired from about 10w for my sanity. I now have a great sleeping 16 month old who has slept through from about 12w with only a handful of times where he woke through the night
And to be perfectly honest, this study basically says "the mental health of the mother is more important than the future mental health of the child". News flash - having children and raising them in a loving and stable environment requires parents to sacrifice a great deal and work at it. That's the god damn point. If you don't really want children, or have issues that are unresolved from childhood yourself, don't become parents until you are emotionally responsible and capable of nurturing another human being. I was control-cried. Trust me, the anxiety & depression will come out side-ways somewhere and at sometime in your child's life. If you can live with that possibility as a parent, then at the very least set up a trust fund to pay for your children's therapy. So if your baby cries, go to them and pick them up. Comfort them. Be a parent. And everyone wins.
Quote from Pinky McKay (IBCLC) "Leaving a baby to cry evokes physiological responses that increase stress hormones. Crying infants experience an increase in heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. These reactions are likely to result in overheating and, along with vomiting due to extreme distress, could pose a potential risk of SIDS in vulnerable infants. There may also be longer-term emotional effects. Babies need our help to learn how to regulate their emotions, meaning that when we respond to and soothe their cries, we help them understand that when they are upset, they can calm down. On the other hand, when infants are left alone to cry it out, they fail to develop the understanding that they can regulate their own emotions. These changes then affect memory, attention, and emotion, and can trigger an elevated response to stress throughout life, including a predisposition to later anxiety and depressive disorders."
i ve used a simular method to controlled crying for my children since birth. always putting my baby in their bed just before they drift off to sleep, encouraging them to get themselves to sleep. a little crying wont hurt a baby. a mum can tell the difference between a little cry and to a cry of distress. i have never let my baby cry distressed or left them for more than 10 mins. and using this tecnique i have seen all my 3 young children sleep peacefully through the night without rocking or picking up or patting from between 5 - 10 weeks of bith. my method comes from " Baby Wise" and the peace i receive from Jesus Christ!
I cant believe someone would advocate leaving a tiny baby to scream, abandoned and helpless. This is so irresponsible. There have been plenty of studies saying exactly the opposite. It causes long term emotional and psychological damage and an increase in rates of depression as well as a depressive personality type. Yes they stop crying faster because they give up, they think nobody is coming so it is all hopeless. Im sorry if you are depressed because you arent getting enough sleep, suck it up thats what parenting is about, putting your child and their needs first. And before people hype on that I probably have no children I have EIGHT and I didnt let any of them cry their tiny little selves to sleep. It is borderline child abuse.

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