Sleep, baby sleep
If your baby refuses to sleep, the solution could well be in how you manage your baby's behaviour. This case is an extract from an article by the journalist Caroline Phillips in the Evening Standard on 5th March 1996.

Sometimes our seven month old baby was waking up ten times a night, screaming and refusing to sleep. Other nights when her father and I were exhausted, our daughter Anya was ready to disco till dawn. This went on week after week. So what do you do when your child won't sleep? You could call Dr Pippa Rundle, a paediatrician and counsellor who has specialised in child sleep disorders for many years. She works at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, runs a child behaviour clinic in Richmond and sees private clients at her home or theirs for a consultation fee. Her aim is to increase the mother's confidence in her ability to look after the baby.

Mothers should not reward the baby for waking, says Dr Rundle. "No night feeding (babies do not need night feeding after five months), cuddling or playing during the night. I suggest a deadpan approach without too much emotion." All the baby's carers should act consistently. Dr Rundle then agrees a contract with the mother, "She may check the baby every five minutes or simply leave him/her. The longest the baby could, theoretically, be left to cry would be all night." For the first week, many mothers opt for checking the baby frequently. Thereafter they often leave the baby to cry, which usually gets faster results. "Usually babies cry for two or three hours the first night, an hour the second and for a minimal period on the third."

The first week Dr Rundle suggested changing our baby's diet, thereby solving stomach problems which were causing her to wake up in pain. Then I tried to stop her rewards and gave her weak juice instead of a feed. I left her to cry but checked her every ten minutes. When I could no longer endure my cruelty, I'd breastfeed or take her into our bed. Subsequently Dr Rundle pointed out my inconsistent behaviour, guided me through my anxieties and conflicting advice from health professionals, and helped me decide what results I wanted to achieve.

The next night, I left Anya crying for some time. I felt dreadful - so I took her into our bed. But Dr Rundle assured me that being left to scream in the short term would be outweighed by the benefits of having mother who wasn't fraught. The next night Anya screamed from two until five in the morning. I was determined to change her behaviour. I didn't relent. Guess what? Two weeks ago, we had our first night's sleep in seven months. And this week she has slept like a baby.

For more information on child sleep disorders go to sleep disorders.