1. A mixed methods study of perinatal sleep and breastfeeding outcomes in women at risk for postpartum depression
- Author
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Katherine M. Sharkey, Emily Mepham, Katherine A. Mason, and Lily K. Gordon
- Subjects
Adult ,Postpartum depression ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Breastfeeding ,Mothers ,Article ,Depression, Postpartum ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,Behavioral Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,Pregnancy ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Bipolar disorder ,Sleep disorder ,business.industry ,Obstetrics ,Postpartum Period ,Actigraphy ,medicine.disease ,Breast Feeding ,Gestation ,Female ,Sleep ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Cohort study - Abstract
INTRODUCTION. Pregnant and postpartum women experience significant sleep disruption, but the role of perinatal sleep disturbances in breastfeeding is understudied. METHODS. In this observational cohort study, we used mixed methods to examine associations between perinatal sleep and breastfeeding. 48 women (mean age 28.2±4.9 years) who were euthymic at enrollment but had a history of major depression (n=43) or bipolar disorder (n=5) had sleep recorded with wrist actigraphy. We determined feeding status through daily diaries and used semi-structured interviews to identify themes regarding participants’ experiences, breastfeeding decisions, and behaviors. To examine whether sleep disturbance during pregnancy predicted breastfeeding (BF) rates, we defined “lower sleep efficiency” (LSE) and “higher sleep efficiency” (HSE) groups based on the median split of actigraphic SE at 33 weeks’ gestation (cutoff SE=84.9%) and classified mothers as No-BF, Mixed-BF (BF+formula), and Exclusive-BF at 2 weeks postpartum. RESULTS. Percentages of women who did any breastfeeding were: Week 2=72.3%, Week 6=62.5%, Week 16= 50%. LSE mothers were less likely than HSE mothers to initiate breastfeeding (percent No-BF: LSE=45.8%, HSE=16.7%, p
- Published
- 2021
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