By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kids Nutrition Specialist Getting a good nights sleep with a newborn baby in the house, as many parents know, is not going to happen anytime soon. Despite the odd waking hours of babies, the first 6 months of life are critical to helping a baby set their circadian rhythms (regular sleeping and rising patterns) that will stay with them for years to come. Some babies, however, may have some hurdles to overcome as a new study explains babies with depressed mothers experience disruptive sleep. Sleep experts from the University of Michigan found that babies whose mothers experienced depression before becoming pregnant or had altered moods during pregnancy were more likely to have chaotic sleep patterns than infants of moms who were not depressed. The findings of the study will be presented at the European Sleep Research Society next week in Glasgow, Scotland. What exactly constitutes the chaotic sleep habits? Researchers found that babies with depressed moms sleep longer during daytime naps yet take longer to settle down at nighttime. These odd patterns are the infant version of adult insomnia. Unfortunately, these sleep patterns only perpetuate parental sleeplessness and lay the building blocks for depression later in the childs life. Two groups of mothers with their newborns were studied, and one of the groups of moms had sought assistance for their pregnancy depression. Starting in the third trimester, each group wore a small wristwatch-like device called an actigraph measuring sleep, daytime activity, and light exposure. At 2 weeks old, the newborns were fitted with their own tiny actigraph which researchers monitored for 8 months. The study found that babies of depressed mothers, when compared with non-depressed moms, had no in-born circadian rhythms and their irregular sleep patterns lasted the entire 8 months of the study. What You Can Do Dont fear, if you have faced depressed this does not mean your baby is destined to follow in your footsteps. Conversely, it also doesnt mean parents who have not suffered from depression should ignore their childs sleeping habits. The study illustrates that all parents, particularly those with a history of depression, should pay close attention to creating positive sleeping conditions for babies right from birth. Keeping a regular sleep schedule, complete with calming nighttime routines, is critical for setting a babys body clock , which researchers note should be in place by about 4 months of age. Following the birth of a new baby, women are at high risk for post partum depression which can often be worsened by lack of sleep. Be sure to discuss any questions or concerns regarding pregnancy and post partum depression with your physician.