Is 4-month-old infants' night waking affected by mothers' responses to them? A cross-sectional survey in Japan.
Megumi Hazumi, Shun Nakajima, Yoshiko Adachi
PMID 33570288WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers who said they immediately feed or check diapers when their baby cries at night reported more night wakings in their 4-month-old infants.
This is an association from a survey, not proof that changing response will help.
Key findings
01In mothers of infants about 4 months old, reported night waking averaged 1.24 times per night, and 26.0% slept without waking until morning.
02After adjusting for other factors, immediately feeding and/or checking diapers was associated with more night waking.
03The adjusted model had a mild to moderate fit and did not explain all of the relationships with night waking.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The data were collected between September 2006 and March 2007, so they may not reflect current infant care practices. The study analysed data from 663 of 1,098 parents attending health checks, and it excluded infants reported to wake more than three times per night, so results may not apply to all families or to very frequent waking. Mothers reported infant sleep and their own responses subjectively, so night waking and caregiver behaviour may be overestimated or misreported. Because this was a cross-sectional survey, it cannot show that caregiver response caused night waking. The model did not explain all of the relationships with night waking, so other factors may be important. The study did not plan its sample size before data collection.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by non-U.S. government research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that waiting before responding will reduce infant night waking. This was a cross-sectional survey of mother-reported behaviour, so it shows association only, and the authors note that ignoring infant cues can harm attachment.