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BMC Women's Health
Published in: BMC Women's Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

The effect of sleep pattern changes on postpartum depressive symptoms

Authors: Beth A. Lewis, Dwenda Gjerdingen, Katie Schuver, Melissa Avery, Bess H. Marcus

Published in: BMC Women's Health | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Research indicates that poor sleep is associated with postpartum depression; however, little is known regarding this relationship among postpartum women who are at high for postpartum depression. This study examined the relationship between changes in self-reported sleep patterns (from six weeks to seven months postpartum) and depressive symptoms at seven months postpartum among women who were at high risk for postpartum depression.

Methods

Participants (n = 122) were postpartum women who were at an increased risk for postpartum depression (personal or maternal history of depression) and had participated in a randomized exercise intervention trial. For the current trial, participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; assessed depression) at six weeks and seven months postpartum.

Results

Overall, sleep problems significantly improved from six weeks to seven months postpartum. However, linear regression analyses indicated that worsening or minimal improvement of sleep problems were associated with higher depressive symptoms at seven month postpartum. Regarding the specific types of sleep problems, self-reported changes in sleep latency (i.e., how long it takes to fall asleep at night), daytime dysfunction (i.e., difficulty staying awake during the day), and sleep quality (i.e., subjective rating of sleep quality) were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Sleep problems typically improve during the postpartum phase. However, postpartum women who are at high risk for postpartum depression are at an increased risk for depressive symptoms later in the postpartum phase if sleep problems worsen or show only minimal improvement over time. Therefore, at the six-week postpartum clinic visit, women should receive education regarding potential worsening of sleep patterns and strategies for preventing sleep-related problems.

Trial registration

Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00961402) on August 18, 2009 prior to the start of the trial.
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Metadata
Title
The effect of sleep pattern changes on postpartum depressive symptoms
Authors
Beth A. Lewis
Dwenda Gjerdingen
Katie Schuver
Melissa Avery
Bess H. Marcus
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Women's Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6874
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-017-0496-6

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