NEWBORNS SLEEP-WAKE PATTERNS - THE ROLE OF MATERNAL, DELIVERY AND INFANT FACTORS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the sleep-wake patt erns of fullterm (greater than or equal to 37 weeks) newborns and to e valuate the effects of specific factors including maternal gestational diabetes, infant size and anthropometric measures, gender, gestationa l age and delivery variables. Methods: Two-hundred twenty newborns wer e studied in the hospital nursery for a continuous 24-h period with mi niature activity monitors attached to the infants' ankles. The sample consisted of 102 infants of gestational diabetic mothers (IGDM) and 11 8 controls, Anthropometric measurements were obtained and maternal and infant characteristics were recorded, Results: The newborns had a dis cernible diurnal sleep pattern and slept twice as much during the nigh ttime as daytime hours (P < 0.001). Higher skinfold measurements corre lated significantly with increased quiet and motionless sleep (P < 0.0 5) for the IGDM but not for controls. Sleep of infants born at later g estational ages was characterized by increased percent of quiet and mo tionless sleep (P < 0.0001), No direct gender effects were identified. Conclusions: Multiple factors were associated with the sleep-wake pat terns of the newborns on our study cohort including maternal glucose v alues during pregnancy, increased measures of adiposity in IGDM, incre ased gestational age, mode of delivery and delivery Sequence. Investig ation of the sleep-wake characteristics of neonates using activity mon itors is a noninvasive method for gaining new understanding of the rel ationships between sleep wake activity patterns and infant characteris tics.