Postpartum Period and Early Motherhood

“…Sleep affects physical and mental health outcomes [ 1 , 2 ]. Restorative sleep is important for physical, cognitive, and psychological well-being [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep patterns and psychosocial health of parents of preterm and full-born infants: a prospective, comparative, longitudinal feasibility study

Marthinsen

Helseth

Småstuen

et al. 2022

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background The early birth and hospitalization of a preterm infant in neonatal intensive care unit can produce several emotional and behavioural responses including sleep problems for parents. Few studies have explored sleep and its associations with health and HRQoL over time in this vulnerable parent population. This purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a prospective, comparative, longitudinal study of the sleep patterns and psychosocial health of preterm and full-born infants’ parents during the first postpartum year. Methods A prospective, comparative, longitudinal feasibility study was conducted. Parents of preterm infants were compared to parents of full-born infants to identify if there were differences in outcomes between the groups. The parents were instructed to wear actigraphs and complete sleep diaries for two consecutive weeks, and responded to a digital questionnaire covering stress, insomnia, fatigue, depression, social support, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life. Survey data were collected at infant ages of 2, 6, and 12 months, actigraphy and sleep diary data were collected at infant age of 2 months only. Descriptive analysis was used to describe recruitment and attrition rates. Differences between completers and dropouts were analysed with a chi-square test (categorical data) and Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon test for two independent samples (continuous variables). Results Between June 2019 and March 2020, 25 parents of a preterm infant and 78 parents of a full-born infant were recruited from four neonatal intensive care units and two maternity wards, respectively, in four Norwegian hospitals. Feasibility was predefined as recruiting ≥ 75 parents each of preterm and full-born infants. The target for the full-born group was reached. However, the preterm group recruitment was challenging. Actigraphs, sleep diaries, and questionnaires were evaluated as feasible for use in a future study. Attrition rates were high in both groups at 6 and 12 months. No parent-related characteristics were associated with participation at 6 months. At 12 months, dropouts had a statistically significantly lower age in the full-born group (both parents) and higher age and body mass index in the preterm group (fathers). Conclusions A longitudinal study is feasible; however, procedural changes, including using active methods and contacting participants, are necessary to increase the recruitment of preterm infants’ parents.

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“…Postpartum families are at risk for disruptions in sleep patterns, including fragmented and/or shortened sleep. Chronic poor quality sleep contributes to declines in cognitive function 1 , excessive daytime sleepiness 2 , and fatigue, all of which can adversely affect parents' ability to meet childrearing demands 3 , 4 . Poor sleep is linked to depressed mood in new mothers 4 , 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chronic poor quality sleep contributes to declines in cognitive function 1 , excessive daytime sleepiness 2 , and fatigue, all of which can adversely affect parents' ability to meet childrearing demands 3 , 4 . Poor sleep is linked to depressed mood in new mothers 4 , 5 . Depressed mothers are less likely to follow safe infant sleep practices, less likely to always use a car seat, more likely to feed their infants juice or cereal before 4 months of age, and more likely to utilize emergency rooms for health care visits 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep pattern gender differences and fragmentation in postpartum parents of twins

Damato¹,

Brubaker²,

Decker³

2021

Sleep Sci

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Objective: Parents of newborn twins are at risk for both shortened sleep duration and sleep discontinuity. The purpose of this study was to characterize weekday and weekend sleep duration, sleep continuity, and awakenings in both mothers and fathers of newborn twins during the first 3 months at home. Material and Methods: Sleep-wake parameters were assessed at two time points using self-report diaries and actigraphy in 75 families with newborn twins. To assess sleep on weekdays and weekends with minimal subject burden, actigraphy recordings of both parents commenced at 9:00 p.m. Saturday and terminated at 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. Results: Mean sleep duration over 24 hours for parents of twins ranged between 6.7 and 7.5 hours during the first 3 months postpartum and did not significantly differ on weekdays or weekends for mothers. Weekend sleep was more fragmented for fathers at both one month and three months with more awakenings, compared to weekday sleep. Mothers had more fragmented night sleep compared to fathers at one month. In contrast, at three months postpartum fathers had shorter total sleep time and night sleep time, but fewer night awakenings on weekdays than mothers. No differences were observed in weekend sleep duration or sleep patterns between mothers and fathers at three months. Discussion: Consolidated sleep periods for both parents averages three hours or less during the first three months postpartum and sleep for both parents is fragmented. In families with newborn twins, the extent of sleep disruption for mothers and fathers is similar.

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Postpartum Period and Early Motherhood

Cited by 13 publications

References 74 publications

Sleep quality is associated with vasopressin methylation in pregnant and postpartum women with a history of psychosocial stress

Sleep quality is associated with vasopressin methylation in pregnant and postpartum women with a history of psychosocial stress

Sleep patterns and psychosocial health of parents of preterm and full-born infants: a prospective, comparative, longitudinal feasibility study

Sleep pattern gender differences and fragmentation in postpartum parents of twins

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