Infant sleep disturbance is associated with preconceptional psychological distress: findings from the Southampton Women's Survey.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether preconceptional psychological distress is associated with infant sleep disturbance.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Southampton, UK.


METHODS
A cohort of women from the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS), who were recruited between 20-34 years of age and followed through their subsequent pregnancies and beyond; a total of 874 mother-infant pairs were involved in the study.


RESULTS
Preconceptional psychological distress was measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). When their infants were 6 and 12 months of age, mothers were asked to report the number of times babies woke on average between the hours of midnight and 06:00 each night during a 2-week period. Preconceptional psychological distress was a strong predictor of infant night waking at both 6 and 12 months of age, independent of the effects of postnatal depression, bedroom sharing, and other confounding factors. At 6 months, preconceptional distress was associated with a 23% increased risk of waking (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.44), and at 12 months with a 22% increased risk (PR 1.22, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.02-1.46).


CONCLUSIONS
Women with preconceptional psychological distress are more likely to have babies with sleep disturbance during infancy, independent of whether they suffered from postnatal depression.
Baird
Janis
J
MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. jb@mrc.soton.ac.uk
Hill
Catherine M
CM
Kendrick
Tony
T
Inskip
Hazel M
HM
D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D016742:Preconception Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020919:Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D014851:Wakefulness