Longitudinal Changes and Features of Sleep Patterns of Mothers with Preterm Infants during the Early Postpartum Period.

This study comprised 13 mothers of preterm infants and 21 mothers of term infants. Sleep assessment was conducted using an actigraph for three consecutive days. The participants were asked to record their sleep behaviors and activities over these 3 days, and complete two questionnaires (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS] and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]). As compared to the mothers of term infants, the sleep efficiency in the preterm mothers was significantly lower than that in the term mothers. The total sleep time was shorter and nighttime awakenings were more frequent in the preterm mothers at 2 weeks after childbirth, but without a significant difference. We analyzed the changes in the sleep data of the mothers of preterm infants longitudinally, including sleep behaviors and the EPDS and PSQI scores. The total sleep time at 1 month postpartum was shorter than that at other periods, and significantly shorter than that at 2 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Our results suggested that sleep problems tended to last longer in mothers of preterm infants than in mothers of term infants, as the problems occurred twice, immediately after childbirth and immediately after discharge.