Associations between Perinatal Sleepiness and Breastfeeding Intentions and Attitudes and Infant Feeding Behaviors and Beliefs

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 15; no. 15; p. 3435
• Main Authors: von Ash, Tayla, Alikhani, Anna, Sharkey, Katherine M, Solano, Paola, Morales Aquino, Melanie, Markham Risica, Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.08.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Attitudes; Babies; Behavior; Breast Feeding; breastfeeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; breastfeeding attitudes; breastfeeding behaviors; breastfeeding intentions; Fatigue; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food and nutrition; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Infant; Infants; Intention; Low income groups; Mothers; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Sleep; sleepiness; Tobacco smoke; Womens health; sleep; infant feeding; breastfeeding intentions; breastfeeding; sleepiness; breastfeeding attitudes; breastfeeding behaviors
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15153435

Breastfeeding rates fall short of public health goals, but barriers are poorly understood. We examined whether excessive sleepiness during pregnancy and the postpartum period was associated with breastfeeding intentions, attitudes, initiation, and continuation in a tobacco-exposed sample participating in a randomized controlled trial to reduce smoke exposure (n = 399). We used the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to examine associations between excessive sleepiness in early (12-16 weeks gestation) and late (32 weeks gestation) pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum, with breastfeeding attitudes using the Mitra index, intentions, initiation, and continuation, as well as other infant feeding practices using the Infant Feeding Questionnaire. Logistic regression models adjusted for age, racial/ethnic identity, parity, marital status, and maternal education showed that excessive sleepiness in late pregnancy was associated with less favorable attitudes toward breastfeeding. In addition, in unadjusted models, excessive sleepiness at 6 months postpartum was associated with less of a tendency to use feeding to calm a fussy infant. Excessive sleepiness was not associated with intent, initiation, or continuation of breastfeeding. Assessing excessive sleepiness in late pregnancy may assist in identifying individuals with negative attitudes to breastfeeding and lead to novel approaches to promoting breastfeeding in populations with lower breastfeeding rates.