Helping New Mothers and Newborns Sleep: An Innovative Sleep Support Program
Title: Helping New Mothers and Newborns Sleep: An Innovative Sleep Support Program
- Identify health, mood and safety risks of moderate to severe maternal sleep disruption.
- List three simple suggestions for infant or maternal sleep hygiene resulting in improved sleep.
- Describe education opportunities regarding maternal and infant sleep support in your practice or institution.
The Sleep Support program goal is to improve newborn/infant and maternal sleep opportunities using a personalized education approach focused on evidence-based behavioral and environmental sleep hygiene adjustments.
Proposed change:
Families frequently voice frustration with newborn and infant sleep, often holding unrealistic expectations or lack of understanding of expected sleep patterns for daytime and nighttime. Typical resources used to seek sleep information include the pediatric visit, popular books and the internet. The Sleep Support Consultation offers parents an opportunity to speak by phone with a trained sleep counselor for targeted education. Anticipatory guidance and a supportive sleep plan is designed in conjunction with family desires and follow up is provided.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
New parents self-selected to participate in the Sleep Support option. Once consult request was initiated, families would complete a detailed intake form outlining their baby’s current sleep habits, patterns, routines, environmental factors, and any medical, clinical or feeding issues. The intake form served as an initial screening tool: infants with snoring, sleep apnea, severe reflux, severe eczema or other clinical factors which affect sleep were referred to the pediatrician for treatment or clearance.
The phone-based 45 min. consultation included the mother/parents and consultant. Other family members or caregivers involved in baby’s care were invited to participate. Information about the sleep environment, newborn/infant sleep and feeding patterns, sleep safety, and maternal sleep hygiene were reviewed. Appropriate suggestions were designed into a Sleep Plan in accordance with parent situation and reasonable goals. A 15 minute follow up call occurred within 1 -2 weeks.
Continuous evaluation finds 90% of participants felt the consultation provided increased understanding of infant sleep, sleep safety, environmental and behavioral sleep approaches with result of improved sleep for baby and for mother. Evaluation methods include feedback during follow up calls, survey scores, requests for additional consultations, referrals of family and numerous unsolicited emails. Parents most often stated the individualized approach as key to the success of the intervention.
Implications for nursing practice:
Infant and maternal sleep is highly personalized. When areas for adjustment or improvement are identified and effective education provided, sleep health can be improved. Nurses are able to use their unique skills to assess and educate a family struggling with newborn sleep and suggest individualized environmental and behavioral adjustments to improve overall sleep health.
Keywords:
Newborn Sleep, Maternal Sleep, Postpartum Depression