Did they really, really need to conduct this survey?
BALTIMORE, June 10 (UPI) -- Mothers of twins seldom get the recommended full night's sleep and often suffer from depression, U.S. researchers said.A U.S. researcher found the mothers of twins sleep an average of 5.4 hours in a 24-hour period, rather than the recommended 7-8 hours. Almost half of the mothers reported mild to severe symptoms of depression.
"As primary caregivers for families, mothers caring for twins experience enormous workload, extreme exhaustion and limited time to meet their own needs," study author Dr. Elizabeth Damato of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland said in a statement.
"Additionally, mothers of twins are likely to be caring for babies that are premature ... Meeting the increased demands of two premature infants places mothers at risk for sleep deprivation."
They're depressed because they're not getting any sleep. I'm sure you could get the same findings if you studied mothers (or fathers) of colicky babies as well.
I'll give the survey authors another idea; mothers of twins who have a third child find that having a single baby after twins is much easier than having twins...
Permalink | E-mail This | Technorati Links | Sphere: Related Content | Digg this! | FARK It!
Filed under:
Science
Comments (4)
I'll give the surv... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Denise | June 12, 2008 3:47 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
1. Posted by Denise | June 12, 2008 3:47 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 12, 2008 03:47
2. Posted by The Listkeeper | June 12, 2008 4:05 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Studies like this more often than not disprove previously held assumptions. By quantifying what's going on, it becomes possible to identify the nature of the problem and develop a solution for it.
And everyone knows, trying to solve problems by making unfounded assumptions is the liberal way. Look at "Global Warming" as an example.
2. Posted by The Listkeeper | June 12, 2008 4:05 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 12, 2008 04:05
3. Posted by Sheik Yur Bouty | June 12, 2008 8:24 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Let me guess, this 'study' was paid for by a government grant.
3. Posted by Sheik Yur Bouty | June 12, 2008 8:24 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 12, 2008 08:24
4. Posted by tyree | June 12, 2008 9:17 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"The study focused on 14 mothers of twins that were, on average, delivered 3 1/2 weeks early."
As a father of twins I can tell you from experience that I got less sleep also. So I spent all those nights helping my wife only to be excluded from the study because I am not the "primary caregiver".
Well excuse me, sexist researchers.
On a more scientific note, since the study mentions the references the fact that twins tend to be premature, did they contrast the study with 14 premature single births? And why didn't the reporter, the journalist, report on such an obvious question? There is a reason I skip reading just about anything that reports on a study. I only had a single semester of statistics in high school and I remember to this day Mr. Scardina telling us that reporters never pay attention to the subject.
4. Posted by tyree | June 12, 2008 9:17 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 12, 2008 09:17