0680 Stress To Parenting Competence Among Black Mothers Of Preterm Infants: The Role Of Sleep

Abstract

Introduction: Have a preterm infant in the intensive care unit (ICU) is stressful. Mothers are vulnerable for stress-related symptom and low parenting competence; however, less is known about the associates of these variables. This study aimed to examine the associations of maternal stress with sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms, and parenting competence, and focused on the role of sleep in linking stress to parenting competence among Black mothers with a preterm infant in the ICU. Methods: Thirty Black mothers participated this study, 14 of them were C-section. A battery of questionnaires measuring their perceived stress, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, maternal self-efficacy in nurturing role, and mother-infant bonding were collected at the end of 2nd week postpartum. Wrist actigraph was used to collect total sleep time (TST) and circadian acidity rhythms (CAR). Stress- and sleep-related biomarkers, such as cortisol, alpha-amylase (sAA), TNF-alpha and progesterone were also collected by using saliva. Results: The maternal stress level and sAA were significantly higher than the norm. Compared to the vaginal delivery mothers, the C-section mothers had significantly higher sAA and less maternal self-efficacy. Nocturnal TST was about 400 minutes, which was one hour less than what they needed to feel refreshed. Those who experienced poor sleep were likely to demonstrate heighten stress, more depressive symptoms, higher progesterone, and less maternal-infant bonding. Moreover, synchronized CAR are associated with better nocturnal TST, less daytime sleep, and higher maternal self-efficacy. Conclusion: The Black mothers are distressed and experienced sleep disturbances. Poor sleep lead to more depressive symptoms and less parenting competence, which indicating by poor maternal infant bonding and less maternal self-efficacy. As a gateway in regulating the effect of stress on parenting competence, maternal sleep may be a target for intervention. More research is needed to explore the underlying biological and psychological mechanisms that regulate stress and sleep and their contributions to parenting.