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Attention control in the peripartum period: a longitudinal study
Tamar Bakun Emesh1, Nachshon Meiran2, Dar Ran-Peled2
1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel. tamarbakun@gmail.com.
Archives of Women'S Mental Health
|November 11, 2024
Summary
Attention control improves postpartum, potentially due to practice or adaptation to sleep changes. Subjective sleep quality, not objective sleep, influenced attention, which did not predict maternal psychological outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Maternal Health
- Sleep Science
Background:
- Attention control is crucial for maternal well-being.
- Existing research on attention control changes during the perinatal period is inconsistent.
- The influence of sleep on attention control in mothers is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in attention control from pregnancy to postpartum.
- To examine the moderating role of objective and subjective sleep on attention control.
- To evaluate the predictive role of attention control in maternal psychological outcomes.
Main Methods:
- 224 pregnant women assessed attention control using the Antisaccade task.
- Objective sleep measured via actigraphy; subjective sleep via sleep diaries.
- Psychological outcomes assessed through questionnaires on depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, and mother-infant relationship.
Main Results:
- Attention control significantly improved from late pregnancy to four months postpartum.
- Poorer subjective sleep correlated with better postpartum attention control.
- Within-person subjective sleep linked to higher attention control during pregnancy, with a reversed trend postpartum.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive recovery, specifically in attention control, may occur by four months postpartum.
- The association between subjective sleep and attention control is complex, possibly reflecting adaptation or heightened awareness.
- Attention control did not predict psychological outcomes, suggesting other factors are more critical for maternal coping.
