title: Postpartum mothers' napping and improved cognitive growth fostering of infants: results from a pilot study.
abstract: Little is known about how maternal sleep disturbances in the postpartum period affect mother-infant interaction. The study was designed to assess if less maternal sleep disturbance and less fatigue were associated with more positive mother-child interaction, independent of maternal depression symptoms. Twenty-three mothers completed 1 week of actigraphy and self-report measures of fatigue and depression symptoms. To determine the quality of mother-infant interaction, mothers and infants were then observed in a structured, video-recorded teaching episode. Greater maternal napping frequency was associated with better cognitive growth fostering of the infant (r s = .44, p < .05), a subscale of the interaction assessment. Maternal napping, not the quality or quantity of nocturnal sleep, appears to be associated with improvements in mother-infant interactions.
authors.affiliation: Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA. cronzio@cnmc.org
authors.forename: Cynthia R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ronzio
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huntley
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monaghan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult