Sydney, Feb 1 (Inditop.com) Sleep deprived new mothers are at considerable risk of crashing when they get behind the wheel, says a new study
Kerry Armstrong and Simon Smith, from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), studied mothers aged 22 to 39 years to examine the impact fatigue has on new mums’ everyday life functioning.
Armstrong said contrary to previous research which indicated post-partum fatigue should disappear after six weeks, new mums still felt exhausted 12 weeks after giving birth.
The study found lifestyle changes, interrupted sleep, lack of routine and high levels of unpredictability, cumulatively led to fatigue which could at times be overwhelming.
“The mothers reported debilitating physical and mental effects, likening their experience to ‘operating in a constant mental haze’ feeling ‘flu-like symptoms’ and ‘moving through the day like you’re on autopilot’,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said while most people accepted women with babies would be exhausted, up until now no-one had looked at what this meant for their safety on and off the road.
“To put the danger of fatigue into some sort of perspective; if someone is awake for 17 hours they have a driving performance similar to that of a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent, and if they have been awake for 24 hours it is 0.1 percent, or two times the legal driving limit,” she said.
“This has serious implications for mothers suffering from interrupted sleep patterns, night after night and sometimes for several years.”
Armstrong said fatigue was a very real danger on our roads with tiredness contributing to one in three crashes, said a QUT release.
“Instead of resting, the mothers often ‘pushed on’ because tasks still needed to be done and the baby’s needs still had to be met.”
