title: Sleep of preterm neonates under developmental care or regular environmental conditions.
abstract: Sleep is the main behavioral state of the premature infant. In adult intensive care units, sleep deprivation has been reported as one of the major stressors. Developmental care (DC) aims to decrease stressful events in neonatal intensive care unit and support well-being.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether DC is accompanied by changes in sleep in preterm neonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cross-over study included 33 preterm neonates [mean (S.D.): gestational age: 29.3 (1.8) weeks; birth weight: 1245 (336) g]. Polysomnography was performed in two randomly ordered 3-h periods with and without DC. A blinded electrophysiologist analyzed sleep. The total sleep time (TST) was the primary outcome, duration of active (AS), quiet (QS) and indeterminate sleep, and latency before sleep were the secondary outcomes. Non-parametric Wilcoxon tests and ANOVA were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In DC condition vs. control: TST increased [in minutes, mean (S.E.M.): 156.2 (2.9) vs. 139.2 (4.6), p=0.002], with increase in AS [86.6 (3.7) vs. 77.0 (4.2), p=0.024] and in QS [47.1 (4.1) vs. 36.9 (4.2), p=0.015], and sleeping latency decreased (2.1 (0.7) vs. 10.5 (2.0), p=0.0005].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DC promoted sleep in our study. The impact of DC on the neuro-behavioral outcome needs futures studies.
authors: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, 29609 Brest, France.
authors: Valerie
authors: V
authors: Bertelle
authors: Dominique
authors: D
authors: Mabin
authors: Joelle
authors: J
authors: Adrien
authors: Jacques
authors: J
authors: Sizun
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012890:Sleep