Sleep parenting practices are associated with infant self-soothing behaviors when measured using actigraphy. 2022

Elizabeth L Adams, and Lindsay Master, and Orfeu M Buxton, and Jennifer S Savage
Center for Childhood Obesity Research, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA; Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA. Electronic address: elizabeth-adams@sc.edu.

Night wakings are common during infancy, with variability in infant self-soothing or requiring parent involvement to fall back asleep. Reasons for variable soothing behaviors are unclear and may be influenced by early-life sleep parenting practices. The study applied a novel method using sleep actigraphy in mother-father-infant triads to quantify infant-only wake bouts (i.e., "self-soothing") and examined associations between sleep parenting practices from 6 to 24 weeks of age. Mother-father-infant triads (N = 20) wore sleep monitors for 1 week at infant ages 6, 15, and 24 weeks. Data were time-matched within families to quantify infant-only wake bouts (when infants woke in the night and parents remained asleep) to be indicative of infant self-soothing. Mothers reported on sleep parenting practices (e.g., feeding to sleep, putting infants to bed while awake) using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire at each age. Mixed models tested associations between parenting practices and infant-only wake bouts. Most mothers (69.5%) reported typically feeding their infants to sleep at bedtime; 27.1% reported typically putting infants to bed while still awake. Parenting practices associated with a greater proportion and frequency of infant-only wake bouts included not typically feeding infants to sleep during night wakings, putting infants to bed while still awake (at 24 weeks of age), and using a greater proportion of low-, rather than high-, stimulus soothing strategies during night wakings. These data suggest parenting practices, such as putting infants to bed when drowsy but still awake, are important strategies for promoting infant self-soothing during night wakings.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D009035 Mothers Female parents, human or animal. Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012890 Sleep A readily reversible suspension of sensorimotor interaction with the environment, usually associated with recumbency and immobility. Sleep Habits,Sleeping Habit,Sleeping Habits,Habit, Sleep,Habit, Sleeping,Habits, Sleep,Habits, Sleeping,Sleep Habit
D014851 Wakefulness A state in which there is an enhanced potential for sensitivity and an efficient responsiveness to external stimuli. Wakefulnesses
D016487 Parenting Performing the role of a parent by care-giving, nurturance, and protection of the child by a natural or substitute parent. The parent supports the child by exercising authority and through consistent, empathic, appropriate behavior in response to the child's needs. PARENTING differs from CHILD REARING in that in child rearing the emphasis is on the act of training or bringing up the children and the interaction between the parent and child, while parenting emphasizes the responsibility and qualities of exemplary behavior of the parent.
D056044 Actigraphy The measurement and recording of MOTOR ACTIVITY to assess rest/activity cycles.

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