President Donald Trump's trade war against China has so far focused on attacking imports. His new front: Weaponising American exports.

The Trump administration is seeking to choke off Beijing's access to key technologies by limiting the sale of vital US components to China's Huawei Technologies. The US is considering putting at least five Chinese surveillance companies on the same blacklist.

The moves are part of a bigger effort by the US to expand and toughen the export control regime that for decades has curbed the sale of defense-related technologies to rogue regimes and strategic rivals.

It's a process that has prompted fears from business that as Trump's trade war grows into a broader technology-driven conflict with China, the US could end up damaging its own economic future.

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In closed-door deliberations the administration since last year has been discussing with companies and industry groups how to update and redefine the products on the Commerce Department's export control list, a process that is expected to gel in the coming weeks.

Administration hawks are pushing for broad definitions to restrict exports related to technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and 3D printing that they call essential to competitiveness.

The new regulations could also limit the ability of companies to hire foreign engineers and scientists to work in affected areas as the knowledge they gain is considered a sensitive "deemed" export.

Economic tools

That fits with the Trump administration's mantra that economic security is national security. So far the administration has used that to justify tariffs on steel and aluminium and to threaten more import duties on cars and parts from the EU and Japan.

More broadly it has used economic tools like stricter national-security screening on Chinese investments in the US and financial sanctions to pursue other policy goals such as protecting Pentagon supply chains and isolating governments in places like Iran and Venezuela.

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On Thursday, Trump described Huawei as "very dangerous," even as he said it could be included in some kind of trade deal with China. And in a move that may broaden Trump’s trade salvos, his administration proposed tariffs on goods from countries found to have undervalued currencies.

Some US businesses fear the export controls more than tariffs.

Companies like General Electric, Google and Microsoft are worried it could bar them from competing in lucrative markets while reducing America's capacity to innovate.

In a written submission to the US Commerce Department, Microsoft warned that the proposed restrictions risked isolating the US from international research collaborations behind the development of many technologies, and that done wrongly, a new regime "could thwart US interests."

Talking teddy bears

"Artificial intelligence is a very broad concept," GE cautioned in its own submission. Defined too broadly export controls could sweep up things like medical imaging where algorithms are being used to scan for diseases and toys like talking teddy bears, it said.

Behind the fear expressed by American companies is a concern that a normally balanced debate to update the list of restricted exports could be dragged into a trade war between the world's two biggest economies increasingly being guided by hawks in the administration.

Congress last year passed a law pushed by the White House ordering Commerce to update its export-control regime to include "emerging" and "foundational" technologies.

The discussions over the changes are ongoing and the administration will likely publish new regulations on emerging technologies in the summer. It'll define "foundational" technologies later this year.

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The debate over how sweeping export restrictions should be has always been a tug of war between a Commerce Department in charge of promoting exports and the more hawkish Defense Department.

But people familiar with internal deliberations said that balance has shifted with control of the process increasingly in the hands of hardline Trump administration officials pushing for stringent controls.

A Commerce spokeswoman declined to address specific questions about the export control review but said the department was working with US businesses, academia and other agencies.

Smart dust

The US's export control system has for years targeted things like fissile material, communications and cybersecurity equipment, lasers, and even space vehicles. The 14 categories of emerging technologies listed in a proposed Commerce Department rule last November included areas like biotechnology, advanced surveillance systems, and robotics including specific things like "smart dust," speck-sized networked sensors.

According to a person briefed on the discussions, the administration has since narrowed its focus to three emerging technologies: artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and sensing advances and technologies like 3D printing.

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But the process has also led to fractures within the Commerce Department and battles between career staff and political appointees, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Several officials considered more moderate have either recently left the agency or been accused of foot-dragging and sidelined in the discussions. The political appointees who have seized control of the process are pushing for the new restrictions to be implemented quickly.

Bill Reinsch, who oversaw the US export-control regime in the Clinton administration, said striking the right balance to protect national security while not stifling innovation is a hard task.

"It's always tricky to get export controls right. Too lax and critical technologies end up in the hands of our adversaries. Too strict and we limit our high tech companies' ability to grow and further innovate, and we encourage others to develop their own capabilities in critical sectors," he said.

The actions against Huawei illustrate the power of the US export-control regime. They also illustrate the dilemma facing policymakers, Reinsch said. Huawei has long been the target of concerns from the US intelligence community and was placed on the so-called "entity list'' for allegedly violating US export controls by selling restricted components to Iran.

Already the moves have had a significant impact on the shares and business models of Huawei suppliers in the US like Qualcomm and other chipmakers. And that could be just the start.

In a report published this month, researchers at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation warned that a crackdown on US tech exports would put as much as $US56 billion ($81 billion) in exports and 74,000 jobs at risk over five years.

They also warned that in trying to force a repatriation of supply chains the Trump administration risked undermining the very economic dynamism it's trying to promote.

"A more effective strategy is to say what is the next generation of advanced technologies and what is required for them to be produced in the United States," said Stephen Ezell, one of the report's authors.

The administration "has got to recognise that policies like export controls are not an unalloyed good."

Bloomberg

Australian of the Year organisers have severed a 38-year partnership with the Commonwealth Bank over fears the scandal-plagued finance industry was damaging the reputation of the national awards.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age understand the National Australia Day Council and the bank reached the decision before Saturday's election.

Labor last November seized on damaging revelations at the banking royal commission to call for CBA to be stripped of its association with the awards as punishment for poor behaviour.

Frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite suggested the bank should be "benched" as major sponsor of the nationally televised awards for at least two years.

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"Having sat down with many, many bank victims and seen and heard the pain and suffering inflicted on them by the Commonwealth Bank and others, if I were one of those victims I would feel pretty hurt seeing Australia Day plastered with Commonwealth Bank logos and bank executives participating in our national day," Mr Thistlethwaite said at the time.

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Mr Thistlethwaite's intervention triggered a broad debate inside the National Australia Day Council, leading to discussions with CBA over whether to continue their association.

In a statement, Commonwealth Bank chief marketing officer Monique Macleod said: "Decisions such as these are not easy and we greatly appreciate the opportunity we have had to work with the NADC and to support the Australian of the Year Awards.

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"Having been a proud and long standing partner of the National Australia Day Council for 38 years, we believe it is the
right time for us to review this sponsorship."

The National Australia Day Council relies on corporate donations to co-ordinate the January 26 ceremony and will now seek a new sponsor. Cash and in-kind sponsorship from CBA and other contributors accounted for more than 35 per cent of the organisation's revenue last year.

"I'm sure if they were benched there would be other organisations and corporates more than willing to step in to the CBA's shoes and sponsor our national day," Mr Thistlethwaite said last November.

Labor was preparing to take a tough line on Australia's major banks had it won the May 18 election but shares surged on Monday after the Coalition's shock victory.

National Australia Day Council chair Danielle Roche thanked the Commonwealth Bank for its support.

"The National Australia Day Council has a wonderful group of partners and looks forward to celebrating extraordinary Australians through the Australian of the Year Awards in 2020 and beyond."

Michael Maguire not only won an historic premiership at South Sydney, he handed NRL debuts to no fewer than six Rabbitohs who will start against his side on Saturday night.

Maguire was in no mood to reflect on his time at Souths this week – "I'm all about the Wests Tigers now'' – as he tries to stop his old club making it ten wins from 11 starts.

But the coach's legacy has not been forgotten at Redfern, especially by the half-dozen players who were granted their first-grade wish by Maguire.

When Maguire started at Souths in 2012, so did baby-faced rookie halfback Adam Reynolds, as well as young English prop George Burgess. The following season twin Tom Burgess made his Souths debut.

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Maguire placed plenty of faith in mature-aged playmaker Cody Walker to get the job done for the suspended Luke Keary in round one of 2016 against the Sydney Roosters, while young guns Cameron Murray and Campbell Graham were the future of Souths; players Maguire would loved to have worked with further had he not been sacked at the end of 2017.

Graham was still a schoolboy at Marcellin College when Maguire let him know he would make his debut at the SCG on a Friday night against St George Illawarra.

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"I'll always be thankful for Madge showing faith in me and giving me my start,'' Graham told the Herald.

"I remember I was studying for a geography exam or something, and once I got the call from Madge the study went out the window.

"I was coming in once or twice a week to train, sometimes during school hours, and the school were good with it.

"Rob Jennings went down with a knee problem, I was fortunate enough to get the call, and he basically said, 'You're in, the boys are psyched you're playing, and I'm excited to see what you can do'. I was blown away. I'll forever have respect for him. He's a great coach and a great bloke. He created a good culture here, there was a lot of discipline, and he left his imprint here at Souths.''

Walker came close to having his first NRL start when he was at the Melbourne Storm, but it was Maguire who handed him his debut at 26.

"He said to me at the start of the pre-season there could be an opportunity there with Luke being suspended for round one, I don't want you to get too far ahead of yourself, and just train hard.

"Then the week leading up to the first game, he gave me the call, but I didn't want to get over-excited. The last time I got the call to debut [in Melbourne], I did my hammy the next day. It would have been round 10, 2014.

"He's been a great help to me and I still class him as one of my mates. I messaged him when he got the job at the Tigers and congratulated him, hoped him and [wife] Joelle and the kids were doing great. He messaged me back and said thanks. He also messaged me after the Indigenous game and said, 'Congratulations on being captain'.

"He's intense but it's who he is. He's successful everywhere he has been.''

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The Reserve Bank will go further than previously thought by cutting the cash rate not two, but three times before 2019 is over, according to a leading economist.

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans , who in February became the first top economist from the big four banks to predict two rate cuts this year, said on Friday he now believes the central bank will go further into uncharted territory as it cuts from the long-standing record low of 1.5 per cent.

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Mr Evans on Tuesday brought forward his prediction for cuts from August and November to June and August. He says this week's comments by RBA Governor Philip Lowe that a June cut was on the cards led him to believe there will also be a 0.25 percentage point reduction in November.

Following the three cuts, the high-profile economist – whose revised prediction was followed by a 0.3 per cent fall in the Australian dollar – then expects the cash rate to stay at 0.75 per cent throughout 2020.

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"Our central forecast for the terminal cash rate in this cycle is 0.75 per cent with risks to the downside," Mr Evans said.

"We would certainly see 0.5 per cent as the floor for the cash rate, with QE (quantitative easing) a more effective policy tool thereafter."

Quantitative easing is a monetary tool where central banks buy government bonds and other assets to inject cash into the economy and increase the money supply.

For the cash rate to stay at 0.75 per cent, Mr Evans said the housing market would have to stabilise and there would need to be a sustained confidence boost from a stable federal government in a position to embrace genuine reform.

He said the terms of trade would also have to hold up much better than assumed in budget estimates, and for global trade tensions to ease.

The Australian dollar traded at 68.85 US cents in early afternoon in Sydney, from 69.05 US cents just before Mr Evans' note was released.

The futures market had already fully priced in two rate cuts by December, a conviction that hardened with Mr Evans' note.

AAP

At one point in his sneaker collecting "career", DJ Jerome Salele’a owned 400 pairs.

These days, the 34-year-old has considerably fewer – he keeps about 50 at his home in Sydney's south-west, with the remainder in storage – but his passion for "kickz" is as strong as ever.

New Zealand-born Salele'a is part of the global community of "sneaker enthusiasts" (he hates the term "sneaker freaker" but loves the magazine of the same name started by Melburnian Simon Wood) that congregate through online forums, meet-ups and events, such as this weekend's SneakerCon in Sydney.

Rarity is the sneaker-lovers' drug, although unlike collectors of, say, wine or art, sneaker heads will often purchase things they don't even like. Salele'a explains: "[I may] buy a pair [I don't like] to trade a pair I am chasing."

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Salele'a has spent "well into six figures" on his collection, with some pairs worth several thousands. But his all-time favourite shoe is a Puma Clyde, which was first launched in the 1970s and retails for less than $100, excluding rare colourways and limited editions.

Although the sneaker community has been dominated, publicly at least, by young men, Salele'a says women are becoming more active, thanks mainly to social media and celebrity culture.

"My partner collects, she loves them as well," he says. "I have been jealous of the women's releases for years. I'm a size 14 men's and I could never fit them. They have had some crazy colourways that guys never get, like an all purple [Nike Air] Jordan."

Speaking of Jordans, named after the famous Chicago Bulls champion Michael Jordan, they are something of a holy grail for collectors, especially after the NBA banned the original 1984 version for breaching uniform rules.

To this day, almost weekly, brands manipulate the market through "drops" of hard-to-get styles that can trade immediately for 10 times their face value. This week, Nike went one step further by releasing its first "virtual" sneaker in partnership with the online game Fortnite that players can purchase for their avatars for about $18.

Brooklyn native Alan Vinogradov, 33, co-founded SneakerCon after he and his brother found trading shoes on eBay a frustrating experience. Since 2009, they have staged events as far away as China for up to 20,000 fans.

Vinogradov, who is in Australia for the Sydney expo, said sneakers inspire an emotional connection for collectors.

"A lot of these shoes are very rare and you can't go into any sneaker store and get them," he says.

Jay Mijares, who runs The Kickz Stand community and events, adds nostalgia to the emotive pull of sneaker collecting. "It's about being part of historic moments or just getting that pair you never could get when you were younger," he says.

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Salele'a agrees the thrill of the chase is part of the appeal, although he acknowledges the internet has completely reshaped the sneaker landscape.

"If they have a limited drop in Paris, Japan or New York, you can buy it [from home]. In the early 2000s, you would see the same guys in the line [at stores], waiting, camping overnight … you started seeing trends – you made a little community."

Salele'a estimates he wears about 25 per cent of his collection, although that ratio was once as high as 80 per cent. He says the casualisation of dress standards, including CEOs wearing sneakers, has meant old stereotypes about sneaker wearers have also dissipated.

"My old CEO, who was worth $400 million, used to walk around the office wearing Air Max 90s. [Apple founder] Steve Jobs wore a pair of $10 sneakers. [It's great] seeing sneakers not just looked at as 'less than' because you aren't wearing a suit and tie. The stigma has lifted."

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The artistic director of the Australian Ballet, David McAllister, has announced he is stepping down after two decades in the role.

Australian Ballet chairman Craig Dunn announced the news at the company's annual general meeting in Melbourne today.

McAllister will finish up at the end of next year, which will be his 20th year at the helm of Australia's national ballet company.

“David has taken The Australian Ballet to new heights during his two decades as artistic director,” Dunn said.

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“His leadership of the company has been extraordinarily successful and he will leave an enduring legacy."

Dunn said there was a "succession-planning process" under way.

McAllister began his career at the Australian Ballet in 1983. He was promoted to principal artist six years later and, in 2001, made the transition from dancer to artistic director of the Australian Ballet.

Queensland Ballet artistic director, Li Cunxin, who danced with Mr McAllister at the Australian Ballet, said the company would always bear the mark of its longest serving artistic director.

"I think there will be two areas in partciular where you will see his mark," Li said. "Obviously as a dancer he left his mark, because he really was a wonderful dancer and he had a very successul career dancing. The other area is as an artistic director … he has really grown that company and steered the company to a wonderful success.

"Not many artists have that kind of privilege to be incredibly successful as a dancer and incredibly successful as an artistic director. To do both at the same company is even rarer."

Celebrated Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy, who has created a number of ballets for the Australian Ballet, said McAllister could retire with a clear conscience knowing he leaves the company in a better state than he found it.

"He has been a great champion of choreographers, which makes me very fond of him, he has produced beautiful dances and he has moved the company on in many, many ways, from financial to creative," Murphy said.

"This is a company that had international success, has produced beautiful principles, increased audiences and has kept pushing boundries. He has balanced blockbuster ballets with new works and there has been growth, and that is possibly the most important, because in the arts the worst thing you can do is to stay static."

The Sydney Morning Herald's veteran dance critic Jill Sykes said McAllister's greatest legacy would be the quality of the dancers under his leadership.

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"David McAllister's legacy of two decades is an outstandingly talented and skilful group of dancers, for which he is to be congratulated. Their technical ability has gone far beyond that of the company he inherited," she said.

McAllister will program the 2020 season, to be announced in September this year, and the search will now begin for a replacement.

Many in the industry feel Li would be an ideal replacement for McAllister, to the detriment of Queensalnd Ballet, however Li said he was not interested in the role.

Murphy has also ruled himself out of throwing his hat in the ring.

"I don't have a hat and if I did I wouldn't be throwing it anywhere," he said.

Sykes said the search should focus on talent who can bring excitement to the company.

"I would hope the company's new director might offer more excitement of choice in works and choreographers," she said.

Justin Hemmes' construction boss has agreed to pay the Sydney hospitality tsar's Merivale group almost $230,000 in the wake of allegations he authorised false invoices to be paid into his bank account.

In civil proceedings on Thursday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Michael Pembroke finalised the settlement deal by making consent orders that Joel Cheeseman, 30, pay $229,811 – the same amount police claim he fleeced from the bar and restaurant empire by authorising false invoices.

The judge did not make any findings as to whether Mr Cheeseman was liable, and Mr Cheeseman made no admissions. It is understood Mr Cheeseman's legal costs to defend the case would have exceeded the amount claimed.

Merivale obtained a freezing order against Mr Cheeseman earlier this month, requiring him not to remove from Australia, transfer or diminish the value of any of his assets up to the value of $300,000.

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He was also subpoenaed to provide statements and other documentation relating to three bank accounts, and any other accounts held in his name or where he is a signatory, and all documentation showing the transfer of money in and out of those accounts, over a period between August 2015 and May 2019.

But the freezing order was lifted on Thursday after Mr Cheeseman agreed to the pay the sum, as well as interest of more than $15,000 and legal costs.

Meanwhile, Mr Cheeseman is due to face the Downing Centre Local Court next week on a charge of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage or causing disadvantage by deception.

Police allege that, between August 2017 and October 2018, he authorised fake invoices to be paid by Merivale into his bank account on five separate occasions. He has not yet entered a plea.

The criminal charges require intention and other elements to be proven, and the standard of proof is higher than for a civil claim.

According to Mr Cheeseman's LinkedIn profile – which appears to have been recently removed – he has worked for the sprawling pub group since May 2015, initially as a group facilities manager before moving into the construction project manager role, in which he claims to "currently oversee and manage all construction for Merivale".

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Dating has never been more confusing. People make specific plans to meet up and then cut off all contact and block you. (That's called "cloaking.") Others might ghost and then attempt to come back from the dead. (Also known as zombie-ing.) Having a word for confusing dating behavior can make it a little easier to bear – it allows you to describe what happened and commiserate with others who've experienced something similar.

After confabbing with colleagues, friends and a one-and-done Tinder date I'm somehow Facebook friends with, here's our attempt to make sense of the frustrating things you might experience while looking for love in 2019. (Most of these have happened to me or someone I know.) Yes, we're trying to make "textual chemistry" happen.

Career-zoned (verb)

When someone rejects you romantically but wants to connect professionally. Natural hazard of living in Washington, D.C., where some daters would rather be LinkedIn than HookingUp. Example: At the young Republican mixer, I thought he was hitting on me. But turns out he just wanted to know if I could introduce him to Kellyanne Conway. I'm tired of getting career-zoned, so I sent him George Conway's email instead.

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Textual chemistry (noun)

On text, your connection is off-the-charts hot. In person, it barely registers. Example: My Bumble match and I were messaging till 3 a.m., sparring about the Oxford comma, but once we met up, the vibe was so awkward. It was nothing more than textual chemistry.

Soul-mining (verb)

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When someone tries to cram three months of emotional intimacy into your first three hours together. May seem exciting in the moment, but is usually followed by never seeing each other again. Think of it as an emotional one-night stand, or Before Sunrise reenactment without the sequels. Example: I thought it was sweet my Tinder date wanted to do the 36 questions to fall in love, but once she ghosted, I realized she was just soul-mining me.

Heart-bargain (verb or noun)

The law student or lawyer who tries to reason their way into or out of an emotional decision, such as a marriage proposal or a breakup. Example: I said we should move in together, but he heart-bargained me down to a weekend vacation.

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Owl (noun)

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That person who texts only when you're asleep – not in a booty call kind of way, but because they spend their days in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility or they just want to seem inaccessible. Problem is: If you can't find a time to text when you're both awake, how will you ever meet up? Example: Who-who could be texting me at this hour? Oh right – it's my owl.

Instabait (verb or noun)

Uploading Instagram stories to prod a FOMO-prone crush to get in touch. May work in the short-term, but effects are likely to disappear quickly. Example: I hadn't heard from Anna in days! So I Instabaited her with pics from that hot new bar we'd talked about checking out, she DMed me, "We should totally go." We never went.

Faux beau (noun)

That guy who acts like a boyfriend, all as a ruse to just continue his string of hookups. Example: He introduced me to his friends and his parents, even brought me to a work dinner – and then said he wasn't ready for a relationship. What a faux beau!

Popsicle (verb or noun)

When your instinct is to play it the opposite of cool, but you try (just this once!) to play hard to get. Like the frozen dessert, your chill does not come naturally and may appear only seasonally. Since you are not at all skilled at this game, you act so chill that the object of your affection deems you uninterested and moves on. Example: I'm really into Sam, but I popsicled too hard. He got a brain freeze and stopped texting back.

Social-squatter (noun)

Someone who breaks up with you but wants to keep seeing your friends platonically. Understandable because your friends are awesome, but totally unacceptable. Example: Aaron dumped me, but then tried to get my besties to join his bocce team?! What a social-squatter.

Ted (noun)

That person who doesn't realize the type of grand gestures that look like devotion on screen – like when Ben Stiller's character in There's Something About Mary goes to extreme lengths to track down his high school crush years later – are actually super-creepy when performed in real life. Example: I broke up with Dan, and then he showed up at the airport, where he professed his love through a flash mob and everyone watching started chanting "Take him back! Take him back!" I got on that plane, alone and safe.

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I used to think rallies worked. I used to believe that the power of large volumes of people could sway the mood of the wider population and break through to politicians and other people of importance. But on Friday I have begun to doubt this, a lot.

I will be upfront with you and state that I believe man-made climate change is happening and the future of the world as we know it is in jeopardy. We will soon be unable to look our children in the eyes and tell them it will be OK unless we act fast and act big. I sign online petitions, I annoy politicians, I have changed many of my own individual practices and that of those I have influence on, namely my workplace. When I was younger I even attended a couple of rallies – I tend to be too far away to make any these days and to be honest, after Friday, I doubt I would bother.

Walking through Melbourne CBD and looking at the faces of the drivers, public transport users and pedestrians caught up in the climate protest, I have begun to think that this traditional form of mass protest may have run its course. In the age of social media and very busy lives, such disruption to passers-by may actually be detrimental to the cause and serve to tick people off more than engage them with the issue of protest.

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The disruption relegates the protesters immediately into the left-wing nutter category who have less than nothing to do and whose message isn’t worth listening to. Even though, in this case, I think it absolutely is.

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I witnessed a number of bystanders sigh in exasperation, many horns honking and lots of angry u-turns by motorists, who then drove off angry. So instead of feeling grateful or interested that protesters were taking time out of their own busy lives to bring this to Parliament’s doorstep, many stalked off fuming. And this is the last thing that needs to be happening with those of the population left who still need to be convinced.

We have tried to communicate with those "climate deniers" and "climate undecided" with protest and facts, but so far these are not working. The federal election vote was unequivocally the largest smack round the philosophical earhole we could have taken, so clearly the way in which we have been attempting to appeal to power has not been working. We need to change our approach.

Surely, between us and the tech-savvy young people who are battling bravely with this cause we can come up with a way of protesting that doesn’t irritate and alienate, but rather inspires thought, engagement and ultimately, change. So far I haven’t come up with anything that is either legal or financially achievable, but there has to be something.

So, fist bump to the people staging a "die-in" today, no apologies to those inconvenienced by the truth, but I think it’s imperative we try something different. Our planet is depending on it.

Nicola Philp is a regular columnist based in Apollo Bay.

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“Will we ever sleep again? What have we done wrong?”

These are the questions infant and child sleep consultant Chantal Cohen hears regularly from exhausted parents.

Sleep deprivation is a universal experience for new parents. Anyone who has been active in tending to the needs of a newborn will recognise the all-consuming fog that seems to tinge your every waking moment (and there are so many waking moments) when you are so sleep deprived that you search for your glasses while wearing them.

And for many parents, particularly those whose baby’s wakefulness lasts beyond the first six months, the effects of never getting enough sleep can seep into every aspect of their life, affecting their health, work, friendships, marriage, relationships with older children, and their self-esteem.

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The effect of sleep deprivation can be far-reaching, but for some, it leads to serious and persistent drops in mood, and can be a trigger for postnatal depression and anxiety (PNDA).

More than one in seven mothers and up to one in 10 fathers experience postnatal depression and/or anxiety, and sleep can be a major factor in its development and maintenance. In fact, studies have shown that new mothers with poor sleep quality are more than three times as likely to suffer depression.

It makes sense: if you’re not getting enough sleep, your reserves to deal with one of the most challenging and transformative periods of life are depleted. We all know that when we are really tired we become more irritable, cranky, and emotionally fragile and we also know the flattening of our mood that comes with exhaustion; so is it any wonder that for some people, particularly those with a predisposition, these feelings reach clinical level?

Running counselling sessions and parents groups at family care centre Tresillian, social worker Margaret Booker sees many parents who struggle with low mood and mood disorders triggered by exhaustion.

“It’s universal to feel tired, to feel exhausted, to not be getting enough sleep when there is a baby in the house,” she says. "And that exhaustion can be a pathway to the mood disorders.”

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Child sleep consultant Chantal Cohen, who spends her days (and nights!) helping families get more sleep, agrees, saying she finds a large proportion of her clients are experiencing PNDA.

Many feel pressured to “make” their baby sleep, and the feelings of failure they experience when they won’t absolutely trashes their confidence. Exhaustion just makes those feelings worse.

According to Cohen, many parents who are chronically exhausted find they can’t sleep even when they have the opportunity because they are “primed to be ‘on’ all the time”.

“Increased cortisol and adrenaline are coursing through your body and you’re just lying there, awake, ready to jump at the baby’s first sound. It makes you sick and it makes you anxious.”

The evidence agrees. A 2015 review of research found that women who experience insomnia and sleep disturbance are more likely to become depressed, and women who are depressed are more likely to experience insomnia. This is supported by research from the Black Dog Institute, who found insomnia is both a risk factor and a symptom of depression. It leads to a cycle of feeling low because you’re not sleeping and not sleeping because you’re feeling low.

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Cohen says that, when her clients experience success in helping their child to sleep better, they report feeling much happier, have far more energy, and feel more connected to their baby.

This is also supported by research. A study of 80 mothers and their infants in Adelaide in 2012 found that, following explicit instruction about sleep and settling techniques, not only did the number of night wakings decrease, but there was a corresponding decrease maternal stress, anxiety, and depression.

However, if you’re experiencing clinical postnatal depression and/or anxiety, simply regaining sleep alone is unlikely to be a miracle cure. Parents who suspect they or their partner may be experiencing PNDA should enlist the help of their GP and/or call the PANDA helpline (1300 726 306) who can direct them to the right services.

But what about when you just can’t seem to get your baby to sleep no matter what you try, and it’s really affecting your mood?

“Parents know that if they could just get their baby to sleep they’d feel better. But they can’t get more sleep. So they have to learn to manage their mood psychologically," says Booker. Acceptance, she says, is the key.

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“We have to accept the reality that we’re just not getting sufficient sleep because otherwise we just struggle against the wrong thing, which will just make us feel worse … we need to minimise the sequelae of not getting enough sleep rather than agonise over it. We trick ourselves into thinking we don’t really care about sleep and that we can cope without it.”

Booker teaches her group therapy clients cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, and how to integrate self-care in daily life, but she says that one of the most important things is the sharing your experiences with others who can relate and support you. She believes in the power of women making deep connections and understanding each other to help each other to cope.

“Getting mothers together to get that mutual support is so important," she says “When they can really connect with other women, they’re going to be fine.”

Booker encourages parents seeking guidance about their baby’s sleep to call Tresillian’s helpline to speak to a qualified baby health nurse (1300 272 736), speak to their GP or Early Childhood Health Centre, or book into one of Tresillian’s courses and workshops.

 Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 224 636.

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