Postpartum maternal sleep disruption is associated with perception of infant temperament: findings from a 6-month longitudinal study

Purpose: Infant temperament is influenced by environmental factors, such as maternal depression and anxiety. However, the association between maternal sleep and infant temperament is unclear. We examined the associations between maternal postpartum sleep and maternal perception of infant temperament and the moderating effect of maternal depression and anxiety over 6 months following delivery. Methods: Postpartum women with a history of depression (N = 166) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, and Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form once per month for 6 months post-delivery. Associations between maternal sleep and infant temperament and interactions with maternal anxiety and depression were tested via 2-level multilevel models. Results: At the month-level, shorter sleep duration and greater sleep disturbance were significantly associated with higher infant negative affectivity, and shorter sleep duration, greater sleep disturbance, and lower sleep efficiency were associated with significantly lower infant orienting/regulation (p’s < 0.05). At the person-level, lower sleep efficiency and greater sleep disturbance were significantly associated with higher infant negative affectivity (p’s < 0.05). Both person-level effects were significantly moderated by depression symptoms, whereas only the effect of sleep efficiency was moderated by anxiety symptoms (p’s < 0.05). Conclusions: Maternal perception of infant orienting/regulation may be sensitive to acute sleep disruption, whereas maternal perception of infant negative affectivity is linked both acute and trait-like maternal sleep disruption. Lower depression symptoms may buffer trait-like effects of maternal sleep disruption on perception of infant negative affectivity, whereas higher anxiety symptoms may be sensitizing. These findings highlight the importance of maternal sleep health for infant outcomes.