An overview of reviews for preventing and treating sleep problems in infants

Abstract

Aim Parents and professionals receive conflicting recommendations about management of infant sleep problems. The aim of this umbrella review was to provide an overview of summarised research on the prevention and treatment of sleep problems in infants (0–1 year), content of the interventions and the conditions under which they are delivered. Methods The umbrella review included five systematic reviews of 24 individual studies, mainly randomised controlled trials. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO, Cochrane, Campbell, Epistemonikos, PDQ‐Evidence, IN SUM and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, for reviews published during 2010–2021. Results The systematic reviews showed that behavioural interventions increased sleep in infants and parents. Interventions entailed reducing parental disturbances during sleep onset and enabling the infant to fall asleep and maintain sleep on their own. Knowledge about infant sleep and the establishment of positive bedtime routines seemed crucial for preventing and treating sleep difficulties. The interventions can be delivered in a few sessions, typically one‐on‐one during the postnatal period. Conclusion Behavioural interventions can be recommended and adapted to the individual family. Positive outcomes for the infant and the family depend on a close and coordinated collaboration between child health clinics, community psychologists, general physicians and other services.

Annual Research Review: The power of predictability – patterns of signals in early life shape neurodevelopment and mental health trajectories

“…An important next step for identifying the role of predictability on child outcomes is the implementation of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the context of intervention research. Although not focused on predictability, prior intervention work clearly has demonstrated that changing the child's environment has the potential to change child behavior (Bick, Palmwood, Zajac, Simons, & Dozier, 2019; Dozier, Roben, Caron, Hoye, & Bernard, 2018; Drozd, Leksbø, Størksen, Wilhelmsen, & Slinning, 2022; Hwang, Chao, & Liu, 2013; Mountain, Cahill, & Thorpe, 2017). We now need to develop and evaluate interventions that increase predictability in the child's environment.…”

Issue Highlights

“…The study indicated that short fragmented sleep in early infancy did not need to predict poor development. Another paper, by Drozd et al, summarised a number of reviews on the prevention and treatment of sleep problems in infants up to 1 year of age 2 …”

Identifying and developing strategies for implementation of a guided internet- and mobile-based infant sleep intervention in well-baby and community mental health clinics using group concept mapping

“…Few parents, however, raise their concerns about their child’s sleep problems with health professionals (HPs) and many HPs have little or no formal training in pediatric sleep [ 1 ]. There are effective psychosocial and behavioral interventions [ 3 , 4 ], but their descriptions in research often lack in detail to help HPs in their implementation [ 5 ]. This may result in underidentification and undertreatment of pediatric sleep problems [ 1 ], and the endorsement and delivery of sleep assessment and treatments that are not evidence-based [ 6 ].…”