The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Do psychosocial sleep interventions improve infant sleep or maternal mood in the postnatal period? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Abstract
Sleep complaints are common amongst mothers of infants and insufficient, inefficient or fragmented sleep is associated with postnatal depression. The aim of this review is to determine whether psychosocial sleep-focused interventions offered in the perinatal period improve infant sleep or maternal mood. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo, EMBASE and CINAHL with no date restriction. We reviewed 1097 articles, resulting in nine papers (n = 1,656) that fit the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the analyses. The primary outcome was infant sleep, defined as maternal reports of infant nocturnal total sleep time and number of night-time wakes. The secondary outcome was maternal mood. The meta-analysis indicated improvements in reported infant nocturnal total sleep time (Hedge's g = 0.204, p < 0.01). However, there was no evidence for reducing infant night wakes (Hedge's g = 0.103, p = 0.134). There was evidence of maternal mood improvements (Hedge's g = 0.152, p = 0.014), however, this could have been influenced by publication bias. Psychosocial sleep interventions appear to impact the amount of sleep that a mother reports her baby to have, although the infants continue to wake as frequently. More research is needed to confirm whether sleep-related improvements can translate into improvements in maternal mood.
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“they have at best produced mixed results, and most have been found to be ineffective [14,40–42].”
From Development and evaluation of ‘Sleep, Baby & You’—An approach to supporting parental well-being and responsive infant caregiving (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
Citations
Cites
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“However, for many, sleep disruption continues throughout the postnatal period with 60% reporting poor sleep quality at 2 mo [1] and frequent night waking remaining common for up to 12 mo postnatal [14].”
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- Hiscock, 2000, Infant sleep problems and postnatal depression: a community based study, Pediatr Res, 47, 27a
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Items 101–113 of 113
Crichton, G. E., & Symon, B. G. (2016) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000000320
Kuhn, B. R., & Cordts, K. M. P. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822963-7.00366-2
Pharmacotherapy of postpartum depression: An update
Kumar, K., Pallavi, K., Martand, K., & Maharshi, V. (2025) · Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research · doi:10.18231/j.ijogr.2025.001
Gogola, A. M., & Gnat, R. (2025) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13151895
“…interventions have demonstrated beneficial effects, including aerobic exercise [15,16], behavioral sleep interventions for infants and mothers [17], psychosocial peer support, nondirective counseling, group-based therapies [2], and pharmacological treatment—primarily selective serotonin…”
Silang, K., Horn, S. R. G.-V., Giesbrecht, G. F., Szeto, A. C. H., Exner‐Cortens, D., Dewsnap, K., Jung, J. W., Keys, E., Lebel, C. A., & Tomfohr‐Madsen, L. M. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.120253
Barker, L. C., Dennis, C., & Vigod, S. N. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781911623496.013
Matsunaka, E., Ooshige, N., Ueki, S., & Morokuma, S. (2025) · JBI Evidence Synthesis · doi:10.11124/jbies-25-00002
Hua, J., Zhou, S., Yang, Z., Huang, S., Cai, W., & Chen, L. (2026) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2026.104842
Appleton, J., Maxwell, A., Cheng, H., Taki, S., Stockton, D. A., Fethney, J., Debelin, A., Denney‐Wilson, E., & Reilly, N. M. (2026) · JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting · doi:10.2196/88948
“Interventions providing education and/or support to parents regarding infant sleep can have positive impacts on infant sleep and maternal mood [10,11].”
(2020) · Femina · doi:10.61622/0100-7254488202001
Zanden, B. E. V., Pickard, J. A., D’Souza, L., Aquilina, M., & Lewis, A. J. (2026) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2026.2723753
Okorn, A., ten Cate, A. E. N., van Hooff, M. L. M., Cillessen, A. H. N., & Beijers, R. (2026) · Birth · doi:10.1111/birt.70118
Chae, S., Kim, C. H., Kim, M., Chung, N., Yeo, J., & Park, C. G. (2026) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-026-04335-3
Metadata
- Authors
- Kempler, L., Sharpe, L., Miller, C. B., & Bartlett, D. J.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Kempler, Liora
- Venue
- Sleep Medicine Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-10
- Volume
- 29
- Pages
- 15-22
- ISSN
- 1087-0792 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2120815927
- Cited by
- 113
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 1.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sleep Medicine Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- BUPA Health Foundation
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Health and Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- infant sleep, maternal mood, postpartum depression, psychosocial interventions, sleep interventions, perinatal period
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Female, Humans, Infant, Mothers, Sleep, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Postpartum Period
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