Gellasch P, Torraca M, Okun ML. Sleep and Mood Among Women With Histories of Depression When They Used a Responsive Infant Bassinet During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2024:S0884-2175(24)00035-2. [PMID:
38552674 DOI:
10.1016/j.jogn.2024.02.006]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To describe the experiences of women with histories of depression who used a responsive infant bassinet during the first 6 months after birth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DESIGN
Secondary qualitative descriptive study with analytic expansion.
SETTING
United States.
PARTICIPANTS
Women (N = 139) who gave birth up to 6 months previously and had histories of depression.
METHODS
We used Kyngäs's method of inductive content analysis to analyze 109 open-ended responses that were collected between August 2020 to November 2021 as part of a previously conducted longitudinal study of women who used a responsive bassinet.
RESULTS
Most participants indicated that the responsive bassinet improved their infants' sleep, which, in turn, subjectively improved their sleep and mood. External stressors and challenges presented barriers to good sleep for the participants and their infants, and participants described how these challenges contributed to their symptoms related to mood. When participants reported that they used the responsive bassinet, they shared that their infants were swaddled in the supine sleep position. Participants who did not use the bassinet commonly reported unsafe sleep practices. We identified seven themes from the data: Improved Maternal Sleep Quality, Barriers to Good Maternal Sleep, Mood and Sleep Go Hand and Hand, External Stressors Impair Mood, Improved Infant Sleep Quality, Barriers to Good Infant Sleep, and Safe Sleep Positioning.
CONCLUSION
These findings can be used to inform clinicians on how a responsive bassinet may offer women at high risk for postpartum depression improved sleep and instrumental support. Future researchers should use validated measures to objectively evaluate rates of postpartum depression and sleep quality in high-risk women when using a responsive bassinet.
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