ABSTRACT

Objective: Previous longitudinal studies have demonstrated prospective relationships between maternal sleep quality and subsequent psychological distress in the postpartum period. Despite evidence for prospective relationships between mood and subsequent sleep quality in adult populations, this direction has not been examined in postpartum women. We aimed to test prospective relationships between sleep quality and subsequent psychological distress, as well as the plausible reverse possibility, in a sample of Black American postpartum mothers (n = 146).

Participants: Mothers were recruited prenatally from two hospitals in a Southeastern city of the United States. Eligible and interested mothers enrolled in a follow-up study on infant development. Data from the current study were obtained during the follow-up study.

Method: Mothers reported on their psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, stress) and sleep quality at 3- and 6-months postpartum. We performed hierarchical linear regressions to explore whether 1) maternal sleep quality at 3-months postpartum would predict maternal psychological distress at 6-months postpartum, after adjustment for mothers’ earlier psychological distress, and 2) whether psychological distress at 3-months postpartum would predict maternal sleep quality at 6-months postpartum, after adjustment for mothers’ earlier sleep quality.

Results: Maternal sleep quality at 3-months postpartum was not a significant predictor of psychological distress at 6-months postpartum. However, maternal psychological distress at 3-months postpartum was a significant predictor of sleep quality at 6-months postpartum.

Conclusions: Mothers’ psychological distress earlier in the postpartum was a significant predictor of their later sleep quality. Replication is needed in large, prospective studies, with results stratified by race/ethnicity.

 抽象的

目的：之前的纵向研究已经证明了母亲睡眠质量与产后心理困扰之间的前瞻性关系。尽管有证据表明成年人的情绪与随后的睡眠质量之间存在前瞻性关系，但这一方向尚未在产后妇女中得到检验。我们的目的是在美国黑人产后母亲样本中（ n = 146）测试睡眠质量与随后的心理困扰之间的前瞻性关系，以及看似合理的逆转可能性。

参与者：从美国东南部城市的两家医院招募产前母亲。符合条件且感兴趣的母亲参加了婴儿发育的后续研究。当前研究的数据是在后续研究期间获得的。

方法：母亲报告产后 3 个月和 6 个月的心理困扰（即焦虑、抑郁、压力）和睡眠质量。我们进行了分层线性回归，以探讨 1) 产后 3 个月的产妇睡眠质量是否可以预测产后 6 个月的产妇心理困扰（在调整了母亲早期的心理困扰后）；2) 产后 3 个月的心理困扰是否会预测产后 3 个月的产妇心理困扰。在调整母亲早期的睡眠质量后，预测产后 6 个月母亲的睡眠质量。

结果：产后 3 个月的母亲睡眠质量并不是产后 6 个月心理困扰的显着预测因素。然而，产后 3 个月的产妇心理困扰是产后 6 个月睡眠质量的重要预测因素。

结论：母亲产后早期的心理困扰是其后期睡眠质量的重要预测因素。大型前瞻性研究需要重复，结果按种族/民族分层。