Healthcare in Pakistan
Depression often starts at young age and affects women more commonly than men. One or two mothers out of 10 have depression after childbirth. Depression also limits a mother’s capacity to care for her child, and can seriously affect the child’s growth and development. A study showed that exposure to maternal mental distress is associated with undernutrition in 9‐month infants in urban Pakistan.
Psychological stress and sleep
Chronic maternal stress in pregnancy exposes the foetus to increased levels of glucocorticoid and inflammatory markers which in turn negatively effects the H-P-A axis and disrupts sleep regulation of the foetus. Up until the age of 2 years, children who have been exposed to pre-natal stress have shortened and disorganized sleeping patterns. During early childhood development the child's brain is particularity sensitive to adverse events such as family conflict, maternal post-natal depression or abuse. It is thought that it is via sensitization of the H-P-A axis that an abnormal stress response is developed in response to these events/ stressors which in turn causes emotional disorders and later life sleeping disorders. 
Observations have been made that there is an association between stress, sleep and Interleukin-6 proposing a possible mechanism for sleep changes.