Do Dads Sleep Through Their Babies' Cries At Night?

Mothers are three times more likely to wake up and look after their babies than fathers, according to a study from Aarhus University in Denmark. But why is this? Researchers at the university conducted two separate studies to investigate. The first experiment, involving 142 non-parents, tested for differences in men and women’s awakening to infant crying and alarms.During the overnight experiment, researchers found that women were 14% more likely to wake up than men to whisper-level sounds – regardless of whether it was a baby crying or a regular alarm sound.However, once the volume increased (and let’s face it, a baby’s cry can be pretty piercing), there was no significant difference between men and women.“Contrary to popular media portrayals, our male participants did not sleep through baby crying,” said Professor Christine Parsons, from the university’s Department of Clinical Medicine.“We had a lot of variability on how people woke up to the sounds during the experiment, and a lot of overlap between our male and female participants.”It’s worth noting the study was not conducted in new parents – so sleep deprivation and hormonal changes couldn’t be taken into account. In the second experiment, 117 first-time parents in Denmark documented their nighttime caregiving over a week.The results showed that mothers were three times more likely to handle nighttime infant care than fathers.In 23% of couples, there was some evidence for equal sharing.But researchers said mathematical modelling showed the difference in nighttime care “cannot be explained by the minor differences we observed in sound sensitivity between men and women”.The findings are nothing new. A survey back in 2004 found half of fathers hardly ever, or never, got up in the night to tend to their crying babies.The survey of 2,000 parents by Mother & Baby Magazine found a quarter of dads woke up when their baby cried and a fifth woke up once the mum was already awake.So, what’s behind the divide?The researchers suggested social factors, rather than biological differences, might explain the disparity in overnight caregiving.“We think that there are several factors that explain our results, probably intertwined,” said Prof Parsons.“First, mothers generally take maternity leave before fathers take paternity leave. Mothers then gain more experience in soothing their baby early on than fathers.“Second, when mothers are breastfeeding at night, it might make sense for fathers to sleep through.”What do parents think?In response to the study, parents took to Reddit to share how they navigated the night feeds and nappy changes. It turns out some dads do actually sleep through their babies’ cries. “One thing I found out with our boy is that I sleep deep early and my wife sleeps deep late,” said Reddit user _zarkon_.“From 1am to 3am I’ll sleep through most anything but from 3am to 6am I’ll wake at the drop of a hat. My wife is the exact opposite. I have no idea if it’s just us or common among gender lines.”Another father said: “This is anecdotal but I would sleep through our newborn’s cries. We would take turns but my wife had to wake me up to go get the baby when it was my turn otherwise I would sleep right through it.”There were also plenty of fathers who suggested their partners would sleep through the baby crying. “I woke up more often than my wife ever did,” said one parent.“My wife is a very deep sleeper. I was almost always the one to wake up with both of our children. Neither of our kids took a bottle very well, so I had to wake her up to feed them. Was less than ideal because we couldn’t really take turns. We were just tired together,” added another.Others noted that when babies are breastfeeding it doesn’t always make sense for fathers to be getting up, unless their baby needs a nappy change, however with formula-fed babies it’s easier to take it in turns. “I handled all the nighttime stuff as a mother for two reasons: 1) I didn’t have employment, the father did and 2) I was the only one who possessed the necessary equipment to feed the baby, which is what it was crying for,” said Redditor CandidateNo2731.“I’m sure he could hear crying too, but there was a reason I was the one who woke up.”Fathers being forced to return to work days or weeks after a baby’s birth seems to have a major bearing on who does the heavy-lifting throughout the night shift. “We just alternated until I had to go back to work,” said another dad.“I mean, guys have work in the morning. Most mums are on maternity leave. It sucks, but it’s what you do,” added Mel0nFarmer.Parental leave review underway in the UKThe researchers of the Danish study suggested policy changes that promote equality in parenting – such as improving paternity leave – might help balance childcare responsibilities in the home. The UK government recently announced a review of the parental leave and pay system with the aim being to better support families and grow the economy.Employed fathers in the UK get up to two weeks statutory paternity leave on less than half the minimum wage, which has been described as the least generous paternity offer in Europe.One in three dads don’t take paternity leave because they can’t afford to.Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, noted that improving parental leave helps children get the best start in life, “as well as being better for parents’ heath and equality at home, and closing gender pay and participation gaps in the workplace too”.“Investing in parental leave will pay back above and beyond, to the bottom line and to society: it really is a no-brainer,” she added.Related...My Generation Is Blamed For Not Having Babies. The Real Fertility Crisis Is EconomicA ‘Big Baby Trial’ Found 1 Way To Help Women Birth Larger Babies SafelyWhy Can’t We Remember Being Babies? Here’s What Science Says

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