Sharing nighttime infant care can reduce sleep disturbance in new mothers, study finds

Australia: The amount of nighttime feeds was connected with shorter or worse nocturnal sleep, but not breastfeeding per se, says an article published in the journal Birth on 22nd February 2022.

Sleep is an important issue for parents during the postpartum period since caregivers of newborn infants frequently experience decreased sleep length and poor sleep quality. The relationship between nursing and gestational parent sleep is poorly known. Over the first two postpartum years, this study looked at how nursing affects total overnight sleep length and sleep efficiency (% of total sleep time in bed) in nulliparous women.

Nulliparous individuals self-reported breastfeeding practices via telephone interviews and sleep patterns by self-report at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postpartum for this study. The data were analyzed using mixed-effects models, with breastfeeding factors acting as predictors and sleep variables acting as outcomes, while adjusting for important covariates.

The results of this study stated as follow:

1. Neither breastfeeding nor the proportion of human milk in babies' total meals was connected with participants' sleep quality or sleep duration.

2. After adjusting for the amount of nighttime feeding, this finding remained.

3. However, independent of meal volume, more nocturnal feeds were substantially linked with shorter sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency.

4. Each extra evening meal reduced nocturnal sleep duration by 6.6-8.4 minutes and sleep efficiency by 2.88% -3.02%.

5. Sleep is severely affected for pregnant parents throughout the first six postpartum months, and recovery from this disruption takes at least two years.

Laura Astbury and the team concluded this study with the notion that perinatal experts might use the study's findings to educate women about breastfeeding. Providers may use the findings of this study to encourage shared nighttime baby care from the entire family to reduce the detrimental impact on sleep and wellness on new parents who have the assistance.

Reference:

Astbury, L, Bennett, C, Pinnington, DM, Bei, B. Does breastfeeding influence sleep? A longitudinal study across the first two postpartum years. Birth. 2022; 00: 1– 9. doi:10.1111/birt.12625

Keywords: mother's milk, breastfeeding, sleep duration, postpartum, nocturnal feeds, nursing, parenthood, sleep disturbances, Birth journal, postpartum care, infant care