The experiential knowledge of the‘hellish’nature of maternal tiredness and
fatigue faded subsequently as the infant began to sleep for longer periods, but the
participant clearly indicated that the memory became dulled over time, rather than
that she reached a more accurate appraisal of the situation.
Across the groups, women spoke of the ways that lack of sleep interfered with
their mental health, their emotional stability, and their relationships with others,
especially family members.
MBG1-1 I used to be very stressed-out because of that. I’d have him sleeping with
me. Maybe on his own. Just feeding him something different at night. Anything. It
was like, the eldest used to wake up until he was about 18 months. So that was a
long time. I took him doctors. I talked to the health visitors, everything...
YMSG-A: Sleep has been the biggest problem for me, like huge. First you get like
delusional and things like that and you just...I ended up really, really poorly off like
says, like I never slept an hour, more than an hour until she was about 6 months.
I got myself really poorly.
YMSG-E: I was absolutely demented in thefirst 8 weeks.
For many participants, persistent tiredness negatively influenced their mood,
which affected their day-to-day experience.
YMSG-E: [When I don’t get enough sleep] I just can’t be trewed with nowt
[bothered with anything].
YMSG-B: It’s horrible
YMSG-C: I’ve got no energy and...
YMSG-E: Aye, you know that you’ve got all the bottles to do and dishes and if you
think...
YMSG-A: It makes you more depressed because you’re just lying on the couch and
you can’t be bothered and you’re looking at all them bottles...
Women reported that the quality of their interactions with family members was
negatively affected by their tiredness and lack of sleep.
BFSG2-D: I get really crabby in the morning. It takes us a while...I mean I’ma
morning person but since I’ve had him, I’m tired. And it can, it can change how the
whole day’s going to be.
BFSG1-C: I know if I’ve had a particularly bad night I will be more short [tem-
pered] with [my daughter] and shout,fly off the handle and then I feel terrible
because it’s not her fault it’s just‘cause I’m tired.
Women experienced emotions and reactions that they felt were out of proportion
to the events around them. It also affected their desire and ability to function the
following day.
YMSG-E: I think you’ll just do owt [anything], really, just go get them to sleep on a
night’cause...like, if they sleep, have a good night’s sleep through the night, you’re
going have a good night’s sleep through the night...rather than if you’ up andre
3 Baby-Lag: Methods for Assessing Parental Tiredness and Fatigue 39