Sleep in the Postpartum: Characteristics of First-Time, Healthy Mothers

Laura Creti,Sally Bailes,Phyllis Zelkowitz,Dieu-Ly Tran,Catherine S Fichten,Eva Libman,Dorrie Rizzo

doi:10.1155/2017/8520358

Laura Creti, Sally Bailes + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8520358

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Abstract

Goals for the present study were to (a) describe the sleep of healthy new mothers over a 6-month postpartum period, (b) examine how sleep quality relates to daytime levels of fatigue and sleepiness, and (c) evaluate the relationship between mothers' and infants' sleep parameters. The sample consisted of 37 healthy, partnered, first-time mothers who had experienced full-term vaginal birth and had a healthy infant. We investigated infants' sleep parameters and mothers' sleep, mood, and daytime functioning 2 and 6 months postpartum. We found that at 2 months postpartum, mothers reported sleeping 6 hours at night and just under one hour during the day. Despite relatively frequent nocturnal awakenings, mothers experienced minimal insomnia, nonrefreshing sleep, anxiety, depression, daytime sleepiness, or fatigue at either 2 or 6 months. The most robust relationship between mothers' and infants' sleep was in the number of nocturnal sleep-wake episodes. Of note is that none of the infant sleep parameters was related to mothers' anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleepiness, or nonrefreshing sleep at either time period. Our results indicate that (1) selected low risk new mothers are resilient in terms of sleep quality, daytime functioning, and mood and (2) these are independent of their infants' sleep parameters.

Highlights

IntroductionThere is a long history of investigation into the implications of sleep disruption and sleep deprivation in vulnerable populations (e.g., medical residents, shift workers, and commercial drivers [1,2,3]), little is known of how sleep disruption affects new mothers’ performance
There is a long history of investigation into the implications of sleep disruption and sleep deprivation in vulnerable populations, little is known of how sleep disruption affects new mothers’ performance
As maternal sleep quality in the perinatal period became of increasing interest, a seminal study by Signal et al [4] documented that the greatest disruption occurred at one week postpartum

Summary

Introduction

There is a long history of investigation into the implications of sleep disruption and sleep deprivation in vulnerable populations (e.g., medical residents, shift workers, and commercial drivers [1,2,3]), little is known of how sleep disruption affects new mothers’ performance. Another study examined how the manifestation of daytime sleepiness related to sleep disturbance in postpartum women [5]. These researchers noted that over 50% of women were still experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness at week 18. While it seems evident that soon after birth, the mother’s sleep is greatly affected by many things, such as nighttime feedings and other challenges of infant care, little has been researched about the evolution of mother-infant sleep (both nighttime and daytime) and the progression from the early postpartum period to the later months, as infants’ sleep and metabolic circadian rhythms develop. The present study examines change in mother-infant sleep at six months as compared with two months postpartum

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