The effects of maternal risk factors during pregnancy on the onset of sleep difficulties in infants at 3 months old

Abstract

Sleep problems in young children are among the most common concerns reported to paediatricians. Sleep is thought to have important regulatory functions, and sleep difficulties in early childhood are linked to several psychosocial and physiological problems. Moreover, several prenatal factors have been found to influence infants' sleep. Among them, most of the studies have been focused on maternal prenatal depression and/or anxiety as potential risk factors for sleep problems in childhood, whereas other relevant psychological factors during pregnancy have not received as much attention. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effect of several psychiatric maternal risk factors during pregnancy (i.e. symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, alcohol use, seasonality, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and/or stressful life events) on the onset of some sleep problems related to sleep quality and sleep practices in 3-month-old infants. We examined 1,221 cases from a population-based birth cohort, with subjective measures during pregnancy in mothers, and at 3 months after birth in the infants. The findings showed that all the maternal risk factors during pregnancy, except for symptoms of alcoholism and sleepiness, were related to sleep difficulties in infants. Interestingly, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder symptomatology in mothers during pregnancy was the only variable that predicted more than two sleeping difficulties (i.e. long sleep-onset latency, co-sleeping with parents and irregular sleeping routines) at 3 months old. Our results highlight the relevance of maternal risk factors during pregnancy, and not only prenatal depression and/or anxiety, as variables to be considered when examining sleep difficulties in infants.

The role of parental circadian preference in the onset of sleep difficulties in early childhood

“…Some prenatal factors, such as mood disturbances [37] and/or substance exposure [38] have been reported to associate with sleep quality in the offspring. Moreover, we recently reported that symptoms of mood disturbances, ADHD and stress in mothers during pregnancy were associated with certain sleep difficulties and sleep practices at the age of three months [28]. Of note, in that study, infants' circadian rhythm development was not related to maternal prenatal risk factors, while the present study indicated that it is related to maternal circadian preference consistently across different time-points.…”

“…These factors include inherited child's characteristics, such as temperament [24] or chronotype [19], perinatal characteristics such as season of birth [25] or photoperiod [26], and environmental characteristics such as parental stress [27]. Following this line of research, our recent study reported that some maternal risk factors during pregnancy are related to infants' sleep difficulties at three months of age [28]. Specifically, we found that symptoms of depression, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and stress in mothers during pregnancy were associated with such sleep difficulties as short sleep and long sleeponset latency, and sleep practices, such as co-sleeping with parents and irregular sleep routines, in three-month-old infants.…”

Sleep Difficulties in Infancy Are Associated with Symptoms of Inattention and Hyperactivity at the Age of 5 Years: A Longitudinal Study

“…11 However, because ADHD does have a hereditary component, parental ADHD and/or other psychiatric risk factors may also negatively affect sleep during infancy. 13,14…”

Understanding the Relationship Between Sleep Problems in Early Childhood and Borderline Personality Disorder: A Narrative Review

“…Finally, a recent study reported that several maternal risk factors during pregnancy were related to sleep difficulties in infants. 52 In relation to children, in a study conducted including 182 families, bedtime behavior and daytime sleepiness seemed to be greatly affected in those children of mothers with mental health problems. 53 …”