Mother–Infant Sleep and Maternal Emotional Distress in Solo-Mother and Two-Parent Families

Ben-Zion, Hamutal; Volkovich, Ella; Meiri, Gal; Tikotzky, Liat

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsz097

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Consistent with previous studies (Ben-Zion et al, 2020; Bock, 2000; Graham, 2014; Jadva et al, 2009; Murray & Golombok, 2005a; Volgsten & Schmidt, 2021), solo mothers in the present study were significantly older than married mothers and generally well-educated. There were no significant differences between solo mothers and married mothers in employment rates at the different assessment points, although solo mothers worked longer hours on average (5 hr more per week).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

A longitudinal study of mother–infant objective and reported sleep in solo-mother and two-parent families.

Ben-Zion¹,

Rabinovitch²,

Ran-Peled³

et al. 2023

Developmental Psychology

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This longitudinal study examined the development of mother-infant objective and reported sleep quality and duration in solo-mother families (i.e., mothers who decided to parent alone) in comparison to two-parent families. We recruited 134 solo mothers and 161 married mothers during pregnancy, most representing the middle to upper socioeconomic class in Israel. Assessments were conducted during pregnancy and at 4 and 8 months postpartum. Maternal and infant sleep were assessed with actigraphy and sleep diaries for 7 nights. Questionnaires were used to assess maternal insomnia symptoms, sleepiness, sleeping arrangements, and background variables. The comparison of sleep between solo-mother and two-parent families, at each assessment point, showed no differences in sleep duration, and only a few differences in sleep quality measures; these were partially explained by maternal age and breastfeeding. Nevertheless, solo mothers were more likely to share a bed with their infants. In both groups, trajectory analyses showed a decrease in maternal actigraphic and diary sleep quality measures from pregnancy to 4 months, followed by an increase from 4 to 8 months. However, maternal insomnia symptoms first declined, and then increased, and maternal sleep duration first lengthened and then shortened. Infant actigraphic and diary sleep quality increased in both groups from 4 to 8 months, whereas sleep duration decreased only in the "solo" group. In general, the findings suggest that objective and subjective sleep quality and sleep duration of solo-mother families, a growing yet unexplored family structure, do not seem to be significantly affected by the absence of a second parent. Public Significance StatementThis study examined, for the first time, the development of objective and reported sleep in solo mothers (i.e., mothers who decided to parent alone) and their infants in comparison to two-parent families. The findings revealed only small differences between the groups, suggesting that sleep quality in solomother families, a growing yet unexplored family structure, does not seem to be significantly affected by the absence of a second parent.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

A longitudinal study of mother–infant objective and reported sleep in solo-mother and two-parent families.

Ben-Zion¹,

Rabinovitch²,

Ran-Peled³

et al. 2023

Developmental Psychology

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“… 81 Benefits of good sleep include good cognitive, physical and social outcomes. 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 Risks of obesity and sudden infant death syndrome are also reduced with good sleep. 60 , 86 Good infant sleep is an important predictor of maternal health and improves family well-being.…”

Section: Consensus Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asia–Pacific consensus statement on integrated 24-hour activity guidelines for the early years

Loo¹,

Okely²,

Taylor³

et al. 2023

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

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“…Additionally, parents may be expecting to experience less sleep fragmentation at 6 months due to the commonly held belief that most infants should achieve sleep consolidation by this age. 26 27 As such, the aims of the study were to: (1) describe and compare sleep patterns in mothers and fathers as well as their intraindividual night-to-night variability at 6 months postpartum and (2) assess associations between parental sleep and family factors (ie, age, education level, employment status, number of children, infant feeding method, infant sleep location and infant nocturnal sleep variables).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep patterns and intraindividual sleep variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum: a population-based, cross-sectional study

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesGiven that postpartum sleep is an important family process, further investigations including both mothers and fathers are necessary. The present study aimed to describe and compare sleep patterns and intraindividual night-to-night variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum using subjective and objective sleep measures.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingGeneral community-based study in Montreal, QC, Canada.ParticipantsThirty-three couples (mothers and fathers) with no self-reported history of medical and mental health conditions participated in this study.ResultsParental sleep was measured across 10 consecutive nights using both a daily sleep diary and actigraphy. Results demonstrated that mothers’ subjective and objective sleep was more fragmented compared with fathers (shorter longest consecutive sleep duration and more nocturnal awakenings; p<0.001). While mothers and fathers did not differ in their self-reported nocturnal sleep duration (p>0.05), actigraphy indicated that mothers obtained significantly longer nocturnal sleep duration (448.07 min±36.49 min) than fathers (400.96 min±45.42 min; p<0.001). Intraindividual sleep variability was revealed by relatively high coefficients of variation for parents across both subjective and objective indices related to sleep fragmentation (between 0.25 and 1.32). Actigraphy also demonstrated variability by mothers sleeping 6 hours consecutively on less than 3 nights, 27.27% (±22.81), and fathers on less than 6 nights, 57.27% (±24.53), out of 10. Associations were also found between parental sleep and family factors, such as age and infant sleep location (p<0.05).ConclusionsThese findings advance our knowledge of how sleep unfolds within the family system beyond the early postpartum weeks and/or months. Given the link between disturbed sleep and family functioning, the current research accentuates the importance of examining postpartum sleep patterns and variability in parents.

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Mother–Infant Sleep and Maternal Emotional Distress in Solo-Mother and Two-Parent Families

Cited by 12 publications

References 60 publications

A longitudinal study of mother–infant objective and reported sleep in solo-mother and two-parent families.

A longitudinal study of mother–infant objective and reported sleep in solo-mother and two-parent families.

Asia–Pacific consensus statement on integrated 24-hour activity guidelines for the early years

Sleep patterns and intraindividual sleep variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum: a population-based, cross-sectional study

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