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Published on: January 26, 2019
Sleep of mothers, fathers, and infants: a longitudinal study from pregnancy through 12 months
Avel Horwitz1, Yael Bar-Shachar1, Dar Ran-Peled1
1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Insights
New parents experience significant sleep quality decline postpartum, with mothers
Area of Science:
- Perinatal mental health
- Sleep science
- Family studies
Background:
- Parental sleep is crucial for well-being and infant care.
- Limited research compares maternal and paternal sleep trajectories.
- Understanding family sleep dynamics is essential for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare maternal and paternal sleep patterns from pregnancy through the first year postpartum.
- To investigate the interrelationships between maternal, paternal, and infant sleep.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 232 couples during pregnancy.
- Collected data via actigraphy, sleep diaries, and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) at multiple time points.
- Utilized trajectory analyses controlling for feeding and sleeping arrangements.
Main Results:
- Mothers reported poorer sleep quality than fathers; both experienced sleep deterioration from pregnancy to 4 months postpartum.
- Approximately 70% of mothers and 50% of fathers showed subclinical insomnia.
- Sleep quality improved from 4 to 12 months, with significant triadic associations observed between parental and infant sleep.
Conclusions:
- Parental sleep undergoes significant changes postpartum, with distinct patterns for mothers and fathers.
- Sleep is interconnected among all family members, highlighting the importance of a family-centered approach.
- Findings underscore the need for interventions addressing sleep in the entire family unit.
Study Objectives:
This study assessed and compared mothers' and fathers' sleep trajectories from pregnancy and throughout the first year of the infant's life. We also examined associations between maternal, paternal, and infant sleep.
Methods:
Two hundred and thirty-two couples were recruited for the study during pregnancy. Data were collected during pregnancy and at 4, 8, and 12 months postpartum. Maternal, paternal, and infant sleep were monitored at home for seven nights, using actigraphy, sleep diaries, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).
Results:
Mothers showed more impaired sleep quality than fathers, at all assessments, whereas fathers had shorter sleep duration. Based on the ISI, about 70% of mothers and 50% of fathers showed at least subclinical insomnia at the different assessments. Trajectory analyses (controlling for feeding method and sleeping arrangements) demonstrated a significant deterioration in diary-based and actigraphy sleep quality for both parents, from pregnancy to 4 months. Both parents and infants had an increase in sleep quality from 4 to 12 months, though some parental sleep variables showed a quadratic pattern with a decrease in sleep quality at 8 months. Statistically significant triadic associations at the different assessments were found between mothers', fathers', and infants' sleep. Maternal and infant sleep measures were more strongly correlated than paternal and infant sleep.
Conclusions:
The findings highlight the importance of considering the family context of sleep, by demonstrating similarities and differences in the changes that sleep undergoes in new mothers and fathers and by showing how sleep is interrelated between all family members.
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