title: Effect of current breastfeeding on sleep patterns in infants from Asia-Pacific region.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding and sleep patterns in infants from Asia-Pacific region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents of 10 321 infants (0-11 months) from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam completed an expanded version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 4714 (45.72%) were currently being breastfed; 61.3% of those between 0 and 5 months and 36.6% of those between 6 and 11 months. Currently breastfed infants, when compared with not currently breastfed infants, had a significant increase in the number and duration of night-time wakings and less consolidated sleep. Interestingly, currently breastfed infants less than 6 months also showed longer duration of daytime sleep and obtained more sleep overall. Of note, of those who were currently breastfed, those infants who were nursed back to sleep during night, woke up more often at night (2.41 vs. 1.67 times) and had shorter continuous night-time sleep period (5.58 vs. 6.88 h; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding infants in the number of night wakings, when the nursing to sleep variable was controlled for in the analysis of variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Breastfeeding is associated with reduced sleep consolidation in infants. This relationship, however, may be moderated by parenting practices of nursing to sleep and back to sleep during the night. Thus, parents of infants with night waking problems should be encouraged to limit the association between nursing and falling to sleep, to improve sleep while maintaining breastfeeding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, UCMI, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, National University Hospital, Singapore. drmaheshbabu@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mahesh Babu
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Ramamurthy
authors.forename: Rini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sekartini
authors.forename: Nichara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruangdaraganon
authors.forename: Duy Houng T
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sadeh
authors.forename: Jodi A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mindell
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D044362:Australasia; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016487:Parenting; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014851:Wakefulness