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Effect of current breastfeeding on sleep patterns in infants from Asia-Pacific region

Mahesh Babu Ramamurthy1, Rini Sekartini, Nichara Ruangdaraganon

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, UCMI, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, National University Hospital, Singapore. drmaheshbabu@gmail.com

Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|May 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Breastfeeding is linked to more frequent night wakings and less consolidated sleep in infants. Parents can improve infant sleep by limiting nursing at sleep time.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Infant sleep patterns are crucial for development and parental well-being.
  • Breastfeeding is a common infant feeding practice globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Understanding the relationship between breastfeeding and infant sleep is essential for evidence-based parenting advice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between breastfeeding and infant sleep patterns.
  • To explore how parenting practices, such as nursing to sleep, influence this relationship.
  • To provide guidance for parents seeking to optimize infant sleep while continuing breastfeeding.

Main Methods:

  • A large-scale cross-sectional study involving 10,321 infants (0-11 months) from the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Utilized an expanded version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire completed by parents.
  • Compared sleep patterns of breastfed versus non-breastfed infants, controlling for relevant variables.

Main Results:

  • Currently breastfed infants experienced more night wakings and less consolidated sleep compared to non-breastfed infants.
  • Infants under 6 months who were breastfed had longer daytime sleep and more total sleep.
  • The practice of nursing infants back to sleep was associated with increased night wakings and shorter sleep durations.

Conclusions:

  • Breastfeeding is associated with poorer sleep consolidation in infants.
  • Parenting practices, specifically nursing to sleep, significantly moderate the relationship between breastfeeding and infant sleep.
  • Parents of infants with sleep difficulties should consider decoupling nursing from sleep onset to improve sleep quality while maintaining breastfeeding.
Abstract

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