AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF SLEEPING PROBLEMS AND FEEDING EXPERIENCE OF PRETERM AND TERM CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN FINLAND - COMPARISON WITH A SOUTHERN GERMAN POPULATION-SAMPLE

Objective: To determine the influence of breast-feeding on the prevale nce and persistence of sleeping problems in southern Finland (SF) and southern Germany (SG). Design: Prospective binational population study of infants admitted to special care units (SCUs) in geographically de fined areas in SF and SG. Subjects: In SE the number of SCU infants wa s 1057 (very preterm, 47; preterm, 258; term, 752); 485 term infants w ere control subjects. In SG, the number of SCU infants was 4427 (very preterm, 284; preterm, 1419; term, 2724). Main outcome measure: Parent reports of child sleeping problems at 5, 20, and 56 months of age. Re sults: Night waking at 5 months of age was less frequent for SCU very preterm (25.5%), preterm (40.6%), and term infants (48%) than For term control subjects (56.7% to 59.9%) in SF. No differences in sleeping b ehavior according to gestation were found at 20 and 56 months. Sleepin g problems were greater in SF infants (25.5% to 48%) than in SG infant s (15.1% to 19.1%) at 5 months of age and were explained by a higher r ate of breast-feeding in SF. Breast-feeding had no long-term effects o n night waking or on co-sleeping in SF. In contrast, breast-fed infant s continued to wake more often in SG. Conclusions: Breast-feeding rath er than gestational age is strongly related to night waking. More supp ort for dealing with night waking might prevent early termination of b reast-feeding.