Construct of the Association between Sleep Quality and Perinatal Depression: A Literature Review

Abstract

Pregnancy is characterized by hormonal and physiological changes; some of these changes cause changes in sleep, presenting excessive sleep in early pregnancy due to the action of progesterone, and difficulty sleeping at the end of pregnancy due to weight gain and frequency of urination. Objective: to identify and systematize the evidence on the association between sleep quality and perinatal depression in pregnant and postpartum women. Methods: an integrative literature review was carried out with a search in the CINAHL, MEDLINE, and SCOPUS databases using the PRISMA flowchart. Results: Of the 92 articles, 10 studies were included according to the eligibility criteria. Results indicate that poor sleep quality during pregnancy is predictive of prenatal and postnatal depression. Sleep quality worsens with increasing gestational and maternal age. Conclusions: Sleep quality during pregnancy is associated with perinatal depression, a global public health problem with high prevalence. Due to its severe consequences for women, children, and families, perinatal depression needs to be identified early, preferably during pregnancy or soon after childbirth, justifying the priority of screening and prevention.

The relationship between anxiety levels in facing childbirth and sleep quality among pregnant women in third trimester (Field study at Lulu’s Independent Midwifery Practice Surabaya in 2023)

“…This result is similar to the finding of previous study on the prevalence of pregnancy-related anxiety (PRA) conducted in Ethiopia, which found that the prevalence of pregnancy-related anxiety in their study was 32.7% [34]. Another study conducted in Indonesia also showed similar results, namely that up to 37.2% of pregnant women in their third trimester experienced mild anxiety, while 39.5% of other pregnant women experienced moderate anxiety and 9.3% of pregnant women in their third trimester experienced severe anxiety [9].…”

“…There are conflicting findings on the relationship between anxiety levels and sleep quality in pregnant women. A previous study conducted in Pontianak, Indonesia on third trimester primigravida women found a significant relationship between anxiety levels and sleep quality in primigravida pregnant women in the third trimester [9]. Other studies also showed a strong and positive relationship between anxiety levels and sleep quality in third trimester pregnant women [10,11].…”

Sleep quality and related predictors among women in the first trimester of pregnancy: A latent profile analysis

“…Previous studies have shown that younger women in the rst trimester are more likely to have trouble sleeping [46][47]. Other studies have shown that increasing age is also a risk factor for poor sleep quality [21,48].…”

“…In addition, physical activity [20], depression [21][22] and social support [23] are associated with sleep during pregnancy. A large, multi-ethnic survey found that social capital was signi cantly associated with adult sleep [24].…”

The stress of losing sleep: Sex-specific neurobiological outcomes

“…Sleep disturbances and poor sleep quality are also predictive of postpartum depression ( Eichler et al, 2019 ; González-Mesa et al, 2019 ; Kalmbach et al, 2020 ; Okun et al, 2018 ; Poeira and Zangão, 2022 ; Polo-Kantola et al, 2017 ). Nearly 85% of women report mild and transient mood disturbances during the first week of postpartum, while 10–15% of mothers meet diagnostic criteria for postpartum depression ( Kendell et al, 1981 ; Ross et al, 2005 ).…”