Sleep Quality and Related Factors in Mothers of Preterm Infants
Date Issued
2007
Date
2007
Author(s)
Lin, Shu-Kuan
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
Background/Purpose: With the advance of medicine, the survival of premature infants increases markedly. The mother always is regarded as the major caregiver in the traditional society; mothers of preterm infants also experience considerable stress, not only during hospitalization, but also after discharge. Many mothers describe themselves suffering from the very serious sleep disorders. This preliminary study is to explore the quality of sleep and multiple factors that affect sleep quality in mothers of premature infants.
Methods: A mixed method design combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies was conducted. During December 1st 2006 to May 30th 2007, data collection was conducted by the semi-structural in-depth interviews and questionnaires of Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), social support scale and Parental Stress Index to repeatedly measure 14 primipara and multipara in three time periods: the first week after the birth, the first week after the infant is transferred out, and the first week after they go home. The valid response rate was 93.33％.
Results: The global score of PSQI less than 5 indicates good quality of sleep. Poor sleep quality was reported by mothers of premature infants in this study; the worst happened in the first week after the birth of a premature infant (mean = 12.3), the best in the first week after the infant is transferred out of the intensive care unit (mean = 6.4). Significant differences were found the three time periods (χ2＝16.33, p＜.01). Poor subjective sleep quality was presented at both the first week after the birth and they go home. The average sleep duration was longest (6.5 hours) in the first week after the infant was transferred out of the intensive care unit, and shortest (4 hours) in the first week after they go home. There were no significant differences in the relationship between sleep quality and other maternal basic profiles or infant characters. The sleep quality and social support was of negative correlation(r = -.28, p >.05), especially emotional support(r = -.41, p <.01). The sleep quality and parenting stress was of positive correlation(r =.68, p <.01); the more stress of a mother, the worse quality of sleep she had. Four themes of sleep quality of mothers were inductively identified as follows. 1) Hard to fall asleep: The mother had insomnia caused by emotional reaction to having premature baby. 2) Hard to sleep well: While the premature infant was in the intensive care unit, the critical condition affected the mother’s mood deeply. 3) From bitter to sweet: As the premature infant was transferred out of NICU, the mother started to feel the baby becoming stable and then to experience good sleep quality. 4) Reorganized the normal daily life activities: The premature infant had time conflicts to adapt to the regular family life, the mother always bore the care burdens and scarified her resting and sleeping time day and night.
Conclusions: Results lead researcher to conclude that clinical nursing staffs should value the impacts of a premature delivery on the mother and its great consequences of physiological, psychological stress and sleep quality deprivation. These results suggested the premature health care team to evaluate the sleep disturbance of the mother, to strengthen the support system to plan for the premature infant, to better the sleep quality of the mother and then to improve the life quality of the family.
Subjects
早產兒
早產兒母親
睡眠品質
premature infant
mother of a premature infant
sleep quality
Type
other
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