New research debunks yet another breastfeeding myth: that breastfeeding moms get less sleep than those who formula feed.
Mothers who participated in the study kept daily sleep diaries and wore devices that measured nighttime sleep.
Researchers found no difference in objective or subjective total sleep time or sleep quality between mothers who were exclusively breastfeeding, exclusively formula feeding or using a combination of the two.
There were no differences on measures of daytime sleepiness or fatigue, either.
The conclusion?  When discussing whether to  formula feed or breast feed, study authors recommend that physicians tell women that choosing to use formula for their baby may not mean they’ll sleep better.
For more breastfeeding myths, check out the La Leche League list, or the list compiled by pediatrician Jack Newman, M.D., founder of Canada’s first hospital-based breastfeeding clinic  at Breastfeeding.com.
