My husband eats baby’s food!
My husband wakes up in the night and eats the baby’s food. Even if I leave him food such as rice, he will still eat the baby’s food. He is lazy and does not buy the food. What can I do? Martha
Dear Martha,
Much as your worry is your husband consuming your baby’s food, you should worry that your husband has a sleep eating disorder which, if it is not addressed, might cause injury or even death. Humans have two types of sleep, one where the eyes are rolling rapidly (REM sleep) and a deeper sleep where the eyes are fixed Non-REM.
Much as sleep should be restful, some people engage in unusual behaviours during sleep which are called parasomnias. These, which include sleep walking and sleep eating happen in the deeper part of sleep (Non-REM) with the person not being able to recall it happening.
A majority of people with a sleep eating disorder as it is called, may have one or many sleep eating episodes nearly every night even when they do not feel hungry.
Foods that are high in calories such as fats or carbohydrates (that are not preferred during day) being preferred here may be the reason why your baby’s food (which has milk or is sugary) is eaten. People with a sleep eating disorder may have excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue so that they may feel lazy to look for or even do work. Sleep-related eating disorder can be dangerous because one has to look for food including in the gardens and cook it (using naked fire).
This can lead to injuries apart from preparing and eating inedible or toxic items. The disorder, can also lead to obesity from eating high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods. Since the disorder can be genetic, related to other sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, medications for mental illness or a mental health disorder such as anxiety or depression, it is important to address these issues.
Many girls at school get pregnant to avoid period pain. Is it true that the pain is cured by pregnancy?
Dear Odean,
Menstruation or a period is due to the shedding of the inside lining of the uterus called endometrium which happens each month in a non-pregnant woman of child bearing age. Although periods are usually painless, some women may suffer cramping abdominal pains during, and sometimes just before a period.
In younger people, painful periods which may begin a year or two after being painless, may have no found causes (primary dysmenorrhea) though locally produced substances called prostaglandins that contract the womb to shed the membrane and expel blood may be to blame.
Apart from prostaglandins being excessive in amounts in adolescent girls, their uterine muscle over responds to the prostaglandins leading to more excessive contractions depriving the uterine muscle of oxygen supply resulting in painful periods
Dr. Vincent Karuhanga
