The Effect of Mother’s Breastsleeping Behavior on Attachment and Postpartum Sleep Quality

Abstract

Background: Nowadays, the increasing importance of mother-infant contact, the significant impact of mother and baby’s sleep quality, and the positive effects on breastfeeding are factors that make breastfeeding sleep important. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mothers’ breastsleeping behavior on attachment and postpartum sleep quality. Methods: This study is cross-sectional. The research was conducted with 202 mothers. The data of the study were collected using a descriptive information form, the Maternal Attachment Scale (MAS), and the Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale (PSQS). Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) for Windows 22.0 software. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the MAS score and PSQS score of mothers who breastsleep and mothers who did not. No statistically significant difference was found when the mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics, breastsleeping-related characteristics, maternal attachment, and sleep quality mean scores were compared (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The literature is very limited in assessing the effects of breastsleeping on mothers’ sleep quality and attachment. This study found that breastsleeping did not affect maternal sleep quality and attachment.