Investigating the Effect of Oral Probiotic Capsules on Postpartum Quality of Sleep in Primiparous women: A Three-blind Randomized Control trial

Abstract

Introduction : Quality of sleep is an important indicator of health. Sleep disturbance and daytime fatigue is one of the most common problems after delivery. Early postpartum (first 4 weeks) is when sleep is most disturbed. The gut microbiota may affect sleep quality and affect host health through the production of metabolites and compounds. The present study aims to determine the effect of oral probiotic capsule on the quality of sleep after delivery in primiparous women. Method This three-blind randomized clinical trial study was conducted in August to November 2023 on 60 eligible primiparous women who gave birth in Mashhad, Iran health centers. The drug group (n = 30) took one probiotic capsule (containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium-Bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis and Bifidobacterium longum) and the placebo group (n = 30) took a placebo capsule from the third day after delivery for 30 days. The Pittsburg Sleep Quality questionary was completed before and after the study. The analysis was done using SPSS version 25 statistical software. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests, T-test and Mann-Whitney test were used. The p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results The two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic and obstetric characteristics except in BMI. Before the intervention, the overall score of postpartum quality of sleep in the drug and placebo groups was 9.66 ± 6.21 and 11.70 ± 6.68, and after the intervention in the probiotic group was 6.16 ± 2.75 and in the placebo group it was 6.60 ± 2.66 with a statistically significant difference in the intervention group compared to the placebo (p < 0.05). Conclusion Consumption of probiotic capsules improves the quality of sleep and maternal health in the postpartum period.