A Solution for Your and Your Newborn's Sleep Issues

Sleep is as essential to a woman’s health as a woman’s health is vital to their sleep. Quality sleep is important for perinatal women–during pregnancy and after–and newborns. The changes experienced in women's environments and bodies during this time are significant for women's and newborns' overall health and sleep.

Sleeping problems during pregnancy, like interrupted sleep patterns, including disturbances, nocturia (frequent nighttime urination), and altered sleep patterns, can cause insomnia, anxiety, fatigue, depression, and newborn sleep issues. Limitinewborn ng these interruptions is complicated by the physiological changes of pregnancy and answering the needs of a newborn child.

Difficulties in sleeping during pregnancy

Statistics show that approximately 76% of women experience poor sleep quality during all stages of pregnancy.

It is hard to get an infant to sleep. When they do finally fall asleep, parents tiptoe around the house, trying not to disturb the sleeping baby. The infant’s sleep is often interrupted. They wake from hunger, dirty diapers, and sounds. Yes, the time an infant sleeps is a reprieve for the parents, but it is just as important for the infant.

Sleep plays an important role in an infant's cognitive and psychosocial development. Quality sleep ensures appropriate development, memory, development of a circadian rhythm, and overall cognitive function.

Sound machines–sometimes called noise machines–are a new way to induce and maintain sleep. Sound machines offer a non-pharmacological way for mothers and babies to fall asleep and stay asleep.

High-quality sleep during pregnancy benefits the mother and the child’s development. When mothers can sleep without disturbances, their mental health and mood are more stable, giving them a more positive environment.

Besides affecting themselves, the mother’s sleep patterns also impact the fetus.

The mother's sleep patterns help to establish the circadian rhythms of the fetus.
The infant's sleep and temperament can be influenced.
The child can have low birth weight, impacting neurodevelopment.

Sleep challenges during pregnancy

Getting quality sleep can be a challenging feat. Throw pregnancy into the mix, and it can seem nearly impossible. Pregnancy presents unique situations, causing frequent sleep disruptions.

Hormones

Pregnancy is a process of hormonal changes. Hormonal changes can affect sleep during pregnancy and other times in your life.

Estrogen and progesterone are the two key players in hormonal activity during pregnancy. Each impacts the quality of your sleep.

Estrogen– can increase the chance of developing sleep apnea during pregnancy. Sleep apnea can cause you to wake up several times throughout the night.

Progesterone– can cause insomnia. Increased levels of this hormone during pregnancy can make it more difficult for you to fall or stay asleep.

Dreams

Dreaming can become intense during pregnancy. Dreams can become more vivid, and the number of nightmares can increase. The fluctuation in hormones can be one reason for this, disrupting sleep.

Physical discomfort

Physical discomfort during pregnancy is pretty apparent. The changes your body endures can disrupt all areas of your life, including sleep. Some of the discomforts you may experience include:

Hemorrhoids
Indigestion
Swelling
Constipation
Backaches
Dizziness
Cramping
Headaches
Restless legs

Finding a comfortable sleeping position can be hard to achieve when any of these are present.

Finding a comfortable position puts sleep almost out of reach. When you are in a comfortable position and able to fall asleep, the need to reposition yourself throughout the night can be more frequent and cause further sleep disruption.

Frequent urination

A real nusance during pregnancy can be the increased urge and frequency to pee. It’s even more of a nuisance when it disrupts sleep. Excessive urination at night is called nocturia.

As the uterus grows with the fetus, it places pressure on the bladder. The increased pressure increases the urge to urinate and the frequency. These frequent stops to the bathroom at night make quality sleep nearly impossible.

Emotional and mental factors

Sleep during pregnancy can be affected by many emotional and mental factors. These factors may include:

Anxiety
Stress
Vivid dreams

Anxiety and stress can cause hormonal changes, specifically the hormone cortisol. Increased cortisol levels have been shown to make it hard to fall asleep. When you’re laying in bed trying to fall asleep, thoughts of why you can’t sleep, preparation for the child’s arrival, anticipation of the birth, and even more can create anxiety, cause an increase in cortisol, and make sleep more of a dream.

Consequences of poor sleep during pregnancy

Sleep deprivation during pregnancy places both the mother and the fetus at risk.

Possible risks to the fetus include:

Miscarriage
Restricted intrauterine growth
Decreased crown-rump length
Reduction in melatonin levels
Preterm birth
Newborn sleep issues

Possible risks to the mother include:

Hyperemesis
Gestational diabetes mellitus
Longer labor
Cesarean section
Preeclampsia
Hypertension

Newborn sleep issues

Post-partum mothers are adjusting to new stressors like caring for a new baby. Creating a peaceful environment for the child can promote their sleep and also minimize your stress and anxiety–bringing you more peaceful rest and sleep.

Newborns can have many sleep issues. These include:

Discomfort
Overstimulation
Illness
Hunger
Day/night reversal
Feeding
Early rise

What are sound machines?

Sound machines are a sleep technology. The development of sound machines arose from the need to improve sleep by offering soothing sounds that minimize obtrusive noises or offer calm in silence. Whether you seek to improve your sleep because of loud distractions or you can’t handle the silence, sound machines can be an economical, non-invasive therapy.

Types of sound machines

Sound machines are just that, sound. They can emit various sounds ranging from music to white noise.

Color noise

White noise machines produce sounds that resemble the noise heard from the static on a TV. But there are other color noises as well.

Pink noise is similar to white noise, but it contains lower frequency sounds. This noise is similar to the sound of falling rain.

Brown noise brings in even more bass to the sound frequency. This noise can sound like a rushing river.

Nature sounds

Other sound machine options are those that replicate the sounds of nature. These sounds can be the songs of birds, falling rain, a thunderstorm, rushing water, ocean waves, night sounds, and rainfalls to name a few.

Customizable

High-level sound machines can allow you to curate your preferences. Some let you insert customizable sound cards into the machine to ensure the sounds match your needs. Others include lights, clocks, and stations. These high-tech machines have many options, like the light you would like to see upon waking and the sound of the alarm. Some even have sound stations where you can select the sound station that suits you best.

Sound masking

The sounds delivered by sound machines, whichever sounds you choose, are designed to drown out environmental sounds. The sounds in the environment can distract you from sleeping. By minimizing their presence with the sound coming from the sound machine, you are better able to fall asleep and stay asleep.

How sound machines help moms

Quality sleep during pregnancy is vital for the mother and the fetus. The impacts to both are well documented. However, pregnancy can make quality sleep a pipedream. A comfortable and calming environment is essential to rest, fall, and stay asleep.

Creating the ideal sleep environment requires many things, including quiet or calm. Sound machines can aid in creating a calming environment. While drowning out the environmental sounds, it produces sounds that ease you into sleep and help keep you there.

Reduce stress and anxiety

Nature sounds help minimize stress and anxiety. Some studies have shown that nature sounds are connected to a more relaxed bodily response.

Listening to nature sounds before and during sleep can induce relaxation, minimize stress and anxiety, and promote sleep.

White noise has been shown to decrease anxiety and improve relaxation in some populations. Improved relaxation can lead to improved quality of sleep.

Mask disruptive noise

Sound machines can help moms sleep by masking surrounding sounds using sensory adaptation. The ambient noise that the sound machine creates enters your ears and becomes the sound your ears hear. The ambient noise masks the outside sounds.

This sound masking creates the right amount of noise, or sound, to keep the sleeping environment comfortable and distractions to a minimum.

Create a routine

Bedtime routines help improve the quality of your sleep. A bedtime routine is activities that you do to prepare for bed. Activities might include meditation, listening to music, shutting down screens, personal hygiene, or stretching. The nightly ritual tells your brain that it’s time to sleep.

It is easy to adjust bedtime routines to include sound machines. Your body is already prepared to sleep because of the routine. The sounds from the sound machine can create a calm environment to place you into the sleep mindset. During pregnancy, this may help to achieve sleep and minimize sleep difficulties.

Postpartum benefits

Sound machines are not beneficial only during pregnancy. They can continue to be helpful post-partum in helping to decrease the incidence of depression and other consequences of sleep disruption. They can also help the baby sleep and give you a better night’s sleep.

How sound machines help infants

Sound machines can be beneficial to infants. It can aid in getting the baby to sleep and to stay asleep. There are several ways that a sound machine can do this.

Create a womb-like environment

Sound machines can help infants. The white noise of a sound machine can remind the child of the sounds they heard in the womb. These comforting, familiar sounds can lull a child to sleep.

Sound masking

The sound masking by the white noise of a sound machine can help newborns sleep longer. Without the disruption of unfamiliar sounds, babies can sleep a bit longer than if they were to hear mom and dad talking in the other room.

Constant background noise

When babies wake up crying, it is natural to want to go to them and make it all better–whatever it is. A constant background noise can promote self-soothing. Self-soothing is a skill that helps babies sleep through the night.

Some babies do not sleep well in silence. The presence of white noise drowns out other sounds and can cue that it’s time to sleep. When a baby hears white noise in the background, it can cue them that it is time to sleep, a kind of self-soothing.

Note that it is not recommended to teach a baby to self-soothe before it is three months old.

Safety considerations

Though sound machines benefit sleeping babies, they don’t come without risks. For that reason, you must use sound machines properly.

Babies have sensitive ears. Keeping sounds below certain decibels is crucial to ensure no damage to the baby’s ears. Make sure that the volume of the sound machine is low. You want it to be a calming presence, not a disturbance or a risk to the baby’s health.

Placing the sound machine away from the baby’s ear, more than 200 cm away, also minimizes risks to their health. Also, be aware that the sound machine is placed where the sound is present throughout the whole room for consistency.

Don’t rely on the sound machine for the baby to fall asleep. Make sure to use it along with other sleeping cues to minimize the risk of dependency. And don’t leave the sound machine on. Turn the machine off once the baby has fallen asleep, or use a timer.

How to choose the right sound machine

Selecting a sound machine is a personal experience. There are several things to consider when deciding which sound machine to purchase for you and your baby.

Key features

Some key features to look for are:

Sound variety
Volume control
Timer functions
Portability
Safety considerations

Sound Variety

Make sure that the sound machine offers the sounds that appeal to you. You can select one that plays only one type of sound, a variety of sounds, or one that lets you add your own sound card with personal sound selections.

The Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine offers 30 soothing sounds. There are 17 nature sounds, three fan sounds, seven baby sounds, and one each of white, pink, and brown noise. You can discover the best sleep sound for you, or if you already know yours, it’s sure to be among those available on this sound machine.

The Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine offers sound variety with 20 choices available. These include white noise, nature, fans, and meditation music. The variety ensures that as your child grows, their preference for sleep sound is just a touch away.

Volume control

The volume of the sound emitted from the sound machine is key to your and your baby’s safety and the sleep environment.

The preset volume of a sound machine that is not adjustable may be too loud and may be more disruptive than beneficial. Or, the sound may be too low to create the desired environment or cancel out disruptive sounds. Ensure you are able to adjust that preset volume.

Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine allows you to adjust the volume to the best level for you. It has 30 different volume levels, allowing for fine-tuning volume control so you can create your perfect sleep environment.

Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine has easily accessible volume control buttons located on the top of the machine. You can easily set the volume to ensure the safety and best experience for your baby.

Timer functions

Do you want the sound machine to run all night, or should it be turned off? To leave it running all night might create a dependency on the device. Sound machines with a timer give you the flexibility to determine if you’d like to have the sound all night or turn it off after playing for so long. Really, the decision is yours, but only if the sound machine has a timer feature.

The Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine and the Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine offer timers that can be set at one hour, three, and six hours. The Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine also has a memory function that remembers your last sleep settings.

Portability

Consider your needs for portability. Do you travel for work? Does your baby go to friends and family? Having a compact, portable sound machine is another important consideration. It can be very convenient to have your sound machine with you or your baby to create that calm sleep space you have at home.

The Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine has a compact design for easy portability. When your baby is staying the night with family or spending naptime with a friend, their routine can be undisturbed, knowing that their familiar sound machine is with them.

Another option is the Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine. The sound machine easily fits into luggage for travel to guarantee quality sleep when you’re away from home. It even has a battery backup to use when traveling to remote areas.

Safety considerations

Ensure the sound machine you purchase is safe for you and your baby. Check that there is volume control and that the sound machine can be heard when placed away from the baby’s ears. Minimizing the risk of dependency is another important reason to consider sound machines with timers.

Safe for you and your baby, Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine and Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine have volume control and timer options. Rest assured that these two sound machines promote baby and mom’s safety.

Sound machines and other sleep aids

Remember that sound machines are sleep aids. It is best to use them as a bedtime routine with other sleep aids. Using them as a sole sleep support may create a dependency that further disrupts your sleep.

Having an arsenal of sleep aids allows you to develop a sleep environment that can minimize the various sleep disturbances you can experience during pregnancy and postpartum.

Other sleep aids can include the making of the bed—the types of bedding you choose to use and the pillows that surround you while you sleep.

Momcozy understands the importance of quality sleep during and after pregnancy. Momcozy has a large selection of sleep aids to help you create the best sleeping space for you and your baby.

The U Shaped Cooling Fabric Pregnancy Pillow offers the added support of C- and U-shaped pillows in one supportive pillow. The support helps relieve pregnancy's physical pains that can often disturb sleep. The pillow is wrapped in a cooling fabric to make it even more comforting.

U Shaped Cooling Fabric Pregnancy Pillow Maternity Pillow

Bedding can be vital to creating the ideal sleep space. Adding another sleep aid like Momcozy’s Silky-Soft Cooling Comforter can help maintain a comfortable body temperature and minimize sleep disruptions. With advanced technology, this comforter has three times moisture wicking ability and ten times the heat dissipation, ideal for capturing the perfect sleep temperature.

Summary

Quality sleep is important for pregnant women and their babies. The risks of lack of sleep can range from increased incidence of depression for the mother to affecting the baby’s memory.

Using sound machines can aid in improving sleep by creating a sleep-positive environment, cuing the mind that it’s time to sleep, or covering up environmental sounds. Using sound and other sleep aids, like pillows and bedding, can create the ideal bedtime routine to set you up for quality restful sleep.

When looking for sound machines and other sleep aids, you must look no further than Momcozy. Momcozy has a vast selection of sleep aids, such as the Momcozy Sunrise Sound Machine and the Momcozy Portable Baby Sound Machine. Other great Momcozy sleep items include the U Shaped Cooling Fabric Pregnancy Pillow and the Silky-Soft Cooling Comforter. You can’t go wrong when you purchase these items for a superior sleep experience.