Parental professional help-seeking for infant sleep

Pei-Wen Hsu1, Wei-Wen Wu1, Yi-Ching Tung2

  • 1School of Nursing, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Journal of Clinical Nursing
|September 8, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Parents often misunderstand infant sleep, leading to delayed professional help-seeking. Unsatisfactory healthcare experiences further deter parents from seeking support for infant sleep concerns.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Parental Health Behaviors
  • Qualitative Research

Background:

  • Infant sleep issues are a common parental concern.
  • Limited understanding exists regarding parental help-seeking behaviors for infant sleep problems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore parental perceptions and experiences with professional help-seeking for infant sleep concerns.
  • To identify factors influencing parental decisions to seek or avoid professional sleep support.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative study utilizing audio-taped interviews with 20 parents of 12-month-old infants.
  • Interviews conducted in comfortable settings (hospital or home).
  • Thematic content analysis to identify patterns in help-seeking experiences.

Main Results:

  • Three key themes emerged: uncertainty about infant sleep, self-reliance ('I can handle it'), and dissatisfaction with professional services.
  • Parental knowledge gaps and misunderstandings about infant sleep significantly impact help-seeking motivation.
  • Negative experiences with healthcare professionals (e.g., ambivalent attitudes, insufficient assessment) reduce willingness to seek future help.

Conclusions:

  • Parental professional help-seeking for infant sleep is complex, influenced by numerous barriers.
  • Addressing parental knowledge deficits and ensuring adequate attention during well-infant visits can improve healthcare service utilization for infant sleep issues.
Abstract

Related Concept Videos

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder01:15

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder characterized by the absence of muscle paralysis that normally occurs during the REM phase of sleep. This absence allows individuals to physically act out their dreams, which are often vivid and disturbing. Common behaviors exhibited during episodes include kicking, punching, and yelling. These actions can be dangerous, potentially leading to injuries for the person with RBD or their bed partner.
RBD is significantly associated with...
2.0K
Nightmares and Night Terrors01:18

Nightmares and Night Terrors

Nightmares and night terrors represent two distinct types of sleep disturbances that differ in timing, characteristics, and the sleeper's recall of the event. Nightmares are vivid, disturbing dreams that usually awaken the sleeper from REM sleep, a stage of sleep where brain activity is high, and dreams are most frequent. Upon awakening, individuals often have detailed recollections of their nightmares, which can include themes of threats to survival, security, or self-esteem.
Nightmares...
627
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
605