Maternal Perception of Infant Sleep and Bonding in Opioid Use Disorder

Infant sleep problems are common in early infancy and can negatively influence maternal-infant bonding. As opioid-exposed neonates are at increased risk of sleep difficulties, we examined the association between maternal perception of infant sleep difficulties and maternal-infant bonding among dyads affected by maternal opioid use disorder (OUD), from birth through 6 months.

We enrolled 100 birthing people (participants) between 6 months and 2 years postpartum who had received medications for OUD during their pregnancy. Participants answered questions regarding maternal and infant characteristics, as well as the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), on which higher scores indicate decreased maternal-infant bonding. Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression models were used to examine the association between infant sleep and bonding.

Of 100 study participants, 91 completed the PBQ. Of these, 55% reported difficulties with their infant's sleep during the first 6 months postpartum. Although bonding scores were overall strong, those who reported infant sleep difficulties scored on average 10.40 points higher on the PBQ ( β = 10.40; 95% confidence interval, 5.94-14.85) than participants who did not report sleep difficulties, indicating the negative association between infant sleep problems and bonding. This effect remained after adjusting for relevant maternal-infant characteristics ( β = 6.86; 95% confidence interval, 2.49-11.24).

In this study among postpartum individuals with OUD, maternal perception of infant sleep problems was associated with reduced maternal-infant bonding. This relationship between infant sleep and bonding offers a target for supporting dyads affected by OUD.