Maternal Well-Being and Sleep-Wake Behaviors in Infants: An Intervention Using Maternal Odor

The development of an organized sleep-wake cycle in young infants is influenced by characteristics of both the infant and the parent, and by the nature of their dyadic interaction. Sleep-wake state organization is influenced first by homeostatic biological regulation, and later by socioemotional regulation. This report describes a feasibility study using an olfactory intervention designed to bridge the transition from physiologic to social regulation in sleep-wake state organization. A sample of 21 mother-infant dyads participated in an one year longitudinal study, after random assignment to either an experimental condition with a maternal odor-laden sleepaid, representational sleepaid (RSA) or a control condition with a neutral sleepaid, Sham Control (SC). Self-report questionnaires measured maternal psychological well-being, and video taping recorded infant sleep-wake behaviors repeatedly throughout the first year. RSA mothers reported significantly better levels of well-being throughout the year. At six and twelve months, mothers who reported more depressive feelings exhibited different nighttime interaction patterns. Infant sleep-wake state organization and sleepaid use changed significantly during the first year but were not altered by the intervention.