The associations between the maternal symptoms of depression and the quality of sleep during pregnancy

Abstract

Mother’s physical and mental health during pregnancy is an important factor in the families, since it affects not only the mother herself, but also the child. Sleep problems and symptoms of depression are common in pregnancy and the relationships between sleep problems and depression are complex. The aim of this study was to examine whether the sleep problems are associated with the maternal symptoms of depression during pregnancy. The study is part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. The whole cohort included 3808 participants and our sample consisted of 3242 mothers. Our sample included the mothers who have filled and returned at least one of the three questionnaires during pregnancy. Maternal depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 14th, 24th and 34th weeks of gestation. Maternal quality of sleep in terms of symptoms of insomnia, sleepiness and self-evaluated general sleep quality was studied using the Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire at 14th, 24th and 34th weeks of gestation. Questions concerned the preceding month. The associations were first studied with correlations and mean comparisons. There were moderate positive correlations between the symptoms of depression and sleep. General linear model for repeated measures was used to evaluate the change in the maternal symptoms of depression regarding the quality of sleep. The results of this study confirmed the positive association between the symptoms of depression and sleep quality in different measure points. The change in the symptoms of depression during pregnancy was higher among mothers with higher symptoms of insomnia and sleepiness and poorer sleep quality. In the whole sample, the symptoms of depression decreased during pregnancy, whereas symptoms of insomnia and general sleep quality worsened. Symptoms of sleepiness followed the U-shape.