Tips for Infant and Parent Sleep (TIPS)

The Hospital for Sick Children30 enrolled

Overview

A randomized controlled trial design will be used to answer whether a behavioral-educational sleep intervention and support from a nurse in the immediate postpartum improves maternal and infant sleep 6 weeks later.

Infant and maternal sleep in the postpartum are related, and influenced by the mother's understanding of infant sleep behavior, the environmental and social cues for sleep presented to the infant, development of the infant's sleep physiology, maternal sleep habits and behaviors, and maternal feelings related to her sleep and her baby's sleep. These factors may be modifiable through the use of behavioral-educational interventions. A randomized controlled trial design will be used to answer whether a behavioral-educational sleep intervention and support from a nurse in the immediate postpartum improves maternal and infant sleep 6 weeks later. Sleep-wake patterns will be analyzed through the use of actigraphy, a wristwatch-like device that measures sleep-wake activity. This is a pilot study which will test the usefulness and practicality of this type of program, so that a larger scale study can be developed.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Sleep Deprivation

Interventions

TIPS InterventionBEHAVIORAL

A behavioral-educational sleep intervention and support from a nurse in the immediate postpartum

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 8 HoursMax age: 7 DaysHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Singleton baby born at GA \>37 weeks * baby 8 hours to 7 days old * Mother age 16-50 years * Normal, healthy infant as described in newborn examination * First time parents living in the Greater Toronto Area * Mother planning to provide fulltime care to her infant for at least the first six weeks after discharge home Exclusion Criteria: * Maternal or infant complications requiring prolonged hospital stay * Previous stillbirth or neonatal death * Maternal chronic illness * Maternal use of medications that affect sleep (e.g. benzodiazepines, any sleep aid) * Known drug or alcohol use beyond occasional social use * Smoking two packs a day or more * Either parent has a diagnosed sleep disorder (e.g. obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy) * Mother's partner is working night shifts * Mother unable to read or understand English * No telephone in the home * Involvement in another research protocol involving sleep

Locations (2)

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sunnybrook & Women's Health Sciences Centre - Women's College Campus

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Sleep outcomes (nocturnal sleep duration, total daily sleep time, time awake after sleep onset, number of night wakings, length of longest sleep periods) for women and their infants will be measured using actigraphy at 6 weeks.