NEW mothers who get less than six hours' sleep a night face an increased risk of postnatal depression.

Strong links between sleep deprivation and depressive symptoms in new mothers were found in a review of more than 100 international studies.

A lack of sleep could make them feel sad, tired and unable to concentrate, Australian researcher Kerry Thomas told the Australian Psychological Society’s annual conference in Canberra yesterday.

"Women whose babies wake several times during the night have a greater risk of developing depression, and that’s both at four weeks postpartum and eight weeks postpartum stage," she said.

"Women who receive less than six hours of sleep a night in a 24-hour period also have an increased risk of developing depression."

About 16 per cent of Australian women are believed to develop postnatal depression, also known as the "baby blues", after giving birth.

Ms Thomas, a research student at the University of Canberra, said there was growing evidence that sleep problems were related to the development of depression generally.

Ms Thomas said for many women sleep problems could begin in pregnancy and last for several months after the birth.

She said community-based residential units were often effective in relieving symptoms of depression by helping new mothers find ways to settle their babies.

"It’s not a cure (for their depression), but the mum does start to feel better," Ms Thomas said.

"when you have children in the home it’s not just a matter of getting more sleep, it’s a strategy.

"you have to negotiate sleep and plan for sleep, which you didn’t have to do before you had children," she said.

Ms Thomas plans to follow up her research by recruiting 60 new mothers next year to study their sleep patterns for up to a year after their babies are born.

The researcher will examine their stages of sleep and monitor any symptoms of depression.

Giving birth is certainly an extremely important state inside a female’s life. She’s got to deal with a many things right before, during and soon after pregnancy.

Symptoms are an indicator of alter from common perception; pregnancy signs or symptoms tell us that women’s body is making ready to give birth to a fresh new existence. Pregnancy signs are vastly different from another women to women thus you have to see the pregnancy signs or symptoms very carefully, make certain that you are able to begin taking precautionary measures as required.

The pregnancy signs are:

* The most frequent or even basic sign of pregnancy is delayed or simply have missed menstrual period. Eventually, the next menstrual period would be missed however in the many occasions, bleeding comes about but is lower or lighter then to regular period cycles. * becoming fatigued or perhaps exhausted is really an very early symptoms of pregnancy. * lower backache, having said that it is determined that mild lowered backache persist through out pregnancy. * Morning sickness. * Head ache. * Frequent urination. *Light spotting- Most often occurs 8-10 days after ovulation, which will be resulted in via the implantation of this embryo in to the lining of the uterus. *Pimple or Acne – you find that although you may don’t more often than not get pimples or acne, you could get them in early pregnancy. it will more likely settle down fairly quickly after your hormonal levels stabilise, however make sure that you does not pick and also squeeze acne that can leave marks and/or spread out harmful bacteria.

Right above is the list of signs of pregnancy which you might discover throughout the time of your own pregnancy. Just remember, every women each pregnancy varies, so there is no need to be scared for those who don’t have all of that listed signs of pregnancy.

Acquire further details with regards to signs of pregnancy here.

Gwyneth Paltrow, pictured in her new film Country Strong, has opened up about suffering post-natal depression. Pic: AP Photo/Sony-Screen Gems, Scott Garfield Source: AP

GWYNETH Paltrow has revealed how she felt like a "zombie" while suffering post-natal depression following the birth of her second child.

The 38-year-old actress admitted she struggled to cope following the birth of her son Moses in 2006.Paltrow also said she couldn’t understand why she felt so bad because she had been fine after giving birth to daughter Apple in 2004.She told Good Housekeeping magazine: ”I felt like a zombie. I couldn’t access my heart. I couldn’t access my emotions. I couldn’t connect."it was terrible, it was the exact opposite of what had happened when Apple was born."With her, I was on cloud nine. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t the same. I just thought it meant I was a terrible mother and a terrible person."Paltrow, who is married to Coldplay singer Chris Martin, also admitted she failed to recognise the symptoms of post-natal depression – which causes a hormone imbalance and affects up to 25 per cent of mothers. She added: "I thought postpartum depression meant you were sobbing every single day and incapable of looking after a child."but there are different shades of it and depths of it, which is why I think it’s so important for women to talk about it. it was a trying time. you don’t want anybody to know that you’re depressed or crying all the time."There’s this shame that we bring to it and it’s incredibly debilitating and scary and you just don’t feel like yourself."Paltrow, who lives in London with Martin and their two children, said it was the 33-year-old musician who first helped her recognise she was suffering from the condition.She said: "About four months into it, Chris came to me and said, "Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong.""I kept saying, ‘No, no, I’m fine.’ but Chris identified it, and that sort of burst the bubble."Paltrow has enjoyed something of a career comeback in recent months, appearing on hit US TV show Glee and starring in the new movie Country Strong.The Oscar-winning actress also credited Martin with keeping her grounded, adding that as he is British, he knows how to keep his feelings hidden.She said: "I definitely have to coax things out of him when we talk. you know, he’s British, so it’s a different lexicon totally."but you have to communicate. Otherwise there’s no relationship."

I've found out that uterine prolapse usually occurs after giving birth. but I was wondering if there are other conditions that could cause this aside from childbirth. it just worries me because I know a teenager who seems to be having one (or two) out of the many symptoms of uterine prolapse like feeling something protruding from the vaginal area. she never had any pregnancies yet. but what else could cause that? Does it have something to do with her age? Lifestyle? Hormones? I just need a background about this condition so if we decide to seek medical help then perhaps we would know the right answers, and questions to ask.