What is a sleep emergency?

How is it different than difficult sleep that needs coaching.

And when is it a mental health emergency requiring medical attention?

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and certified infant and family sleep specialist, explores these questions and offers strategies for getting support and managing a sleep emergency including:

• Signs and symptoms of a mental health crisis that warrants intervention without delay

• Who to reach out to in a mental health crisis

• Signs that what you are experiencing is a sleep emergency

• What to do about a sleep emergency

• How sleep coaching plays a role (and when it’s not enough)

• Preventative steps for sleep emergencies

• How to consider caregivers and feeding in a sleep emergency

Additional Resources:

If you are struggling, call for support without delay: your doctor, your midwife, your therapist or when it is a crisis, 911 or your local crisis line.

Call your local crisis line -in Niagara Ontario it's COAST (Crisis Outreach And Support Team, available 24/7). In the U.S. call the Maternal Mental Health Line (https://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs-impact/national-maternal-mental-health-hotline). Internationally, reach out through Postpartum Support International at https://postpartum.net/ . Go to the Emergency Department or call 911 if you worry that you or your partner or spouse is at risk of harming themselves or their baby.

Getting the support you need matters.

Mentioned in this episode:

The concept of sleep emergencies is from Lyndsey Hookway in a talk a number of years ago. Lyndsey Hookway is an IBCLC and founder of the Holistic Sleep Coach training in the United Kingdom at https://lyndseyhookway.com/hscp/

If you found value in this podcast:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!
2. Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/podcast
3. Book a screening call with Heather Boyd at familysleep.ca
4. Find previous episodes at familysleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood