Sleep disturbances in depressed pregnant women and their newborns

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Abstract

Pregnant women (N = 253) were recruited during their second trimester of pregnancy (M = 22.3 weeks gestation) and assigned to depressed (N = 83) and non-depressed groups based on a SCID diagnosis of depression. They were then given self-report measures on sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety and anger, and their urine was assayed for norepinephrine and cortisol. These measures were repeated during their third trimester (M = 32.4 weeks). Their newborns were then observed during sleep. During both the second and third trimesters, the depressed women had more sleep disturbances and higher depression, anxiety and anger scores. They also had higher norepinephrine and cortisol levels. The newborns of the depressed mothers also had more sleep disturbances including less time in deep sleep and more time in indeterminate (disorganized) sleep, and they were more active and cried/fussed more.

Section snippets

Participants

Two hundred fifty-three pregnant women were recruited during their second trimester of pregnancy (R = 20–24 weeks; M = 22.3 weeks) at a prenatal ultrasound clinic. Following informed consent, they were given a diagnostic interview (SCID) to determine whether they were depressed. Thirty-three percent of the sample was depressed (N = 83). Twenty percent of the depressed women were diagnosed as having dysthymia, and 80% as having major depression. They were distributed 55% Hispanic, 23% African-American

Results

ANOVAs were performed on the sleep disturbance and other self-report variables and urine assays taken during the second and third trimesters for the depressed and non-depressed pregnant women and on the activity levels of their fetuses and on the sleep–wake behaviors of their newborns. As can be seen in Table 1, during the second trimester, the depressed women: (1) had higher scores on the self-report measures including sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety and anger; (2) higher

Discussion

Although no literature could be found on sleep disturbances in depressed pregnant women, the findings of this study were not surprising, given the frequently reported relationships between sleep disturbances and pregnancy (Lee et al., 2000, Sahota et al., 2003) and between sleep disturbances and depression (De Gennaro et al., 2004, Saletu-Zyhlarz et al., 2001).

The stability of sleep disturbances across the second and third trimester is consistent with other findings on sleep disturbances in

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the parents and infants who participated in this study. This research was supported by a merit award (MH# 46586) and Senior Research Scientist Awards (MH# 00331 and AT# 001585) and a March of Dimes Grant (#12-FYO3-48) to Tiffany Field and funding from Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute to the Touch Research Institutes. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Tiffany Field, Ph.D., Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, P.O.

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