Browsing by Author "Sweeney BM"

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    Characterizing the sleep location, patterns, and maternally perceived sleep problems of the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Elsevier B.V., 2025-01-03) Carter ML; Paine S-J; Sweeney BM; Taylor JE; Signal TL
    Objectives To investigate potential sleep inequities between the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, identify socio-ecological factors associated with infant sleep, and determine features of infant sleep that contribute to a mother-perceived infant sleep problem. Design Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Moe Kura: Mother and Child, Sleep and Well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand study when infants were approximately 12 weeks old. Participants 383 Māori and 702 non-Māori mother-infant dyads. Methods Chi-square and independent t-tests measured bivariate associations between maternal ethnicity and infant sleep characteristics. Multivariable and ordinal logistic regression models assessed the relative impact of different socio-ecological factors on infant sleep outcome variables. Results Key developmental markers of infant sleep did not differ by maternal ethnicity. There were some ethnicity-based differences in sleep location. Maternal ethnicity, maternal age, parity, maternal depression, maternal relationship status, life stress, breastfeeding, work status, and bedsharing were related to different dimensions of infant sleep, and to maternal perceptions of a sleep problem. Conclusion Sleep at 12 weeks is highly variable between infants and is associated with numerous socio-ecological factors. Findings support a social determinants explanation for sleep health inequities seen later in childhood.
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    Maternal depressive symptoms in and beyond the perinatal period: Associations with infant and preschooler sleep
    (Oxford University Press on behalf of Sleep Research Society, 2024-10-29) Carter ML; Paine S-J; Sweeney BM; Taylor J; Signal TL
    Study Objectives (1) To describe sleep in infancy and early childhood among children born to mothers with and without clinically significant depressive symptoms, and (2) to explore the relationships between maternal depressive symptoms and sleep patterns and problems during infancy and early childhood. Methods Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Moe Kura: Mother and Child, Sleep and Wellbeing in Aotearoa/New Zealand study. Data were collected in pregnancy (T1), 12 weeks postpartum (T2), and 3 years post-birth (T3). Participants were 262 Māori and 594 non-Māori mother–child dyads. Chi-square and independent t-tests measured bivariate associations between maternal mood (T1, T2, and T3) and child sleep characteristics (T2 and T3). Binary logistic regression models examined longitudinal and concurrent associations between maternal depressive symptoms and infant and preschooler sleep. Adjusted models accounted for key socio-demographic variables, as well as infant sleep variables in preschooler models. Results Bivariate associations were found between prior and concurrent depressive symptomology and many of the infant and preschooler sleep outcomes. In adjusted models, prenatal depressive symptoms remained independently associated with shorter-than-recommended sleep durations in preschoolers. In these models, concurrent depression was also associated with night waking, night LSRSP, and perceived sleep problems at 12 weeks postpartum, and CSHQ-determined and perceived sleep problems at 3 years post-birth. Conclusions Longitudinal and cross-sectional associations were found between maternal depressive symptoms and child sleep. Sleep appears to be one pathway by which maternal depression confers risk for suboptimal child health outcomes. Findings support the need for earlier and better maternal mental health services.