Woman Aims to Help Military Mothers Sleep

By Kristina Schnack Kotlus

When Denise Stern learned she would be graduating from one child to three, she had some very real concerns about her ability to cope.

“I didn’t have anyone I could ask for help. I had a 17-month-old son and brought home twin girls. I know I wasn’t enjoying it the way it was meant to be,” said Stern.

Fast forward to present day and Stern is now slightly more rested, but the compassion for other mothers Stern gained from her experience grew into a business called “Let Mommy Sleep,” which employs registered nurses and licensed nurse practitioners to assist new parents in getting some much needed rest.

Stern uses “evidence-based education” which provides new parents with strategies based on actual studies rather than a collection of conventional “how to best raise baby” old wives tales.

While many people might consider her services a luxury, Stern said her services are vital in an age when many families don’t live under the same roof, and some family members suffer depression.

“The fact is that there are so many moms that are hurting, and that’s not acceptable. The women we work with often have to be told to go rest because they want to do it all- we all want to do it all,” said Stern.

Stern identified one group of moms that need the help she provides more than others: mothers with military-deployed spouses.

Citing a 2007 study that shows mothers with deployed spouses are 30 percent more likely to experience post-partum depression, Stern teamed up with Walter Reed Medical Center’s social work department and committed to providing 50 military moms with five nights of blissful slumber.

The project is fittingly named Mission: Sleep.

Currently, Mission: Sleep is looking for its “First Family of Mission: Sleep,” and is asking the community to nominate a military mom with a deployed spouse and a new baby who could use a few nights to rest and rejuvenate.

Anyone interested may submit a summary of whom they are nominating, and why, to the contact information on the Mission: Sleep website by Jan. 31.

The project is also looking for sponsors to help offset the cost of the program, as well as in-kind donors who would like to provide items for events or items for mothers who are selected for the program.