Uninterrupted Infant Sleep, Development, and Maternal Mood

Abstract

Contrary to the importance of total sleep duration, the association between sleeping through the night and development in early infancy remains unclear. Our aims were to investigate the proportion of infants who sleep through the night (6-or 8-hour sleep blocks) at ages 6 and 12 months in a longitudinal cohort and to explore associations between sleeping through the night, mental and psychomotor development, maternal mood, and breastfeeding. METHODS: At 6 and 12 months of age, maternal reports were used to assess the longest period of uninterrupted infant sleep and feeding method (n = 388). Two different criteria were used to determine if infants slept through the night: 6 and 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Mental and psychomotor developmental indices (Bayley Scales of Infant Development II) and maternal mood (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) were measured at 6, 12, and 36 months of age. RESULTS: Using a definition of either 6 or 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, we found that 27.9% to 57.0% of 6-and 12-month-old infants did not sleep through the night. Linear regressions revealed no significant associations between sleeping through the night and concurrent or later mental development, psychomotor development, or maternal mood (P > .05). However, sleeping through the night was associated with a much lower rate of breastfeeding (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Considering that high proportions of infants did not sleep through the night and that no associations were found between uninterrupted sleep, mental or psychomotor development, and maternal mood, expectations for early sleep consolidation could be moderated.

Infant sleep consolidation: A preliminary investigation of parental expectations

“…3 Moreover, several studies have found that there is considerable interindividual variability in the age at which infants learn to sleep through the night and that this variability reflects a normal development of infant sleep physiology. 2,4 In studies of typically developing infants, the proportion of infants who do not sleep through the night naturally decreases with age. 4 Given the natural and considerable interindividual variability observed in the age of sleep consolidation attainment and the conflictual advice given by healthcare professionals, it would be meaningful to assess parental expectations about infant sleep consolidation.…”

“…2,4 In studies of typically developing infants, the proportion of infants who do not sleep through the night naturally decreases with age. 4 Given the natural and considerable interindividual variability observed in the age of sleep consolidation attainment and the conflictual advice given by healthcare professionals, it would be meaningful to assess parental expectations about infant sleep consolidation.…”

“…Rebecca Burdayron 1,2 Samantha Kenny 1,2 Karine Dubois-Comtois 2,3 Marie-Julie Béliveau 2,4 Marie-Hélène Pennestri 1,2 1…”

Pre-emptive Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Theoretical Foundations and Clinical Translation

“…Infant sleep training emerged in the 1950s and 1960s when the first wave of the school of behaviorism (FWB) in psychology was applied to infantcare. Yet high level evidence demonstrates no decreased night waking or reliably improved maternal mood scores as a result of FWB interventions, and no improvement in developmental outcomes (Price et al, 2012; Bryanton et al, 2013; Douglas and Hill, 2013b; Mindell and Lee, 2015; Price et al, 2015; Kempler et al, 2016; NHMRC, 2017; Pennestri et al, 2018).…”

“…Each of these may arise from, or be exacerbated by, a mismatch between popular sociocultural and clinical approaches, and infant biology. Health professionals report inadequate training in management of breastfeeding and unsettled infant behavior problems, and often recommend approaches which have been shown not to help, or may even worsen these problems, with associated deleterious effects on parent–infant biobehavioral synchrony (Price et al, 2012; Bryanton et al, 2013; Douglas and Hill, 2013b; Rimer and Hiscock, 2014; Mindell and Lee, 2015; Price et al, 2015; Blunden et al, 2016; Etherton et al, 2016; Kempler et al, 2016; Thompson et al, 2016; Gavine et al, 2017; NHMRC, 2017; Pennestri et al, 2018).…”