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Prevalence, comorbidity and factors associated with sleeping, crying and feeding problems at 1 month of age: A community‐based survey
Author(s) -
Cook Fallon,
Mensah Fiona,
Bayer Jordana K,
Hiscock Harriet
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.14262
Subject(s) - crying , medicine , comorbidity , bedtime , pediatrics , cohort , psychiatry
Aim To examine, in a community cohort of healthy one‐month‐old infants, (i) the prevalence of early infant sleeping, crying and feeding problems; (ii) the extent to which they co‐exist; and (iii) infant and mother characteristics associated with each problem alone and with comorbid problems. Methods A survey at 4 weeks of infant age examined the presence of infant sleeping, crying and feeding problems (yes/no); parenting self‐efficacy; rating of self as a tense person; and doubts about parenting at bedtime. Results A total of 770 mothers (39% of those approached) with a total of 781 infants (11 twins) took part. Infant sleeping, crying and feeding problems were reported by 38.5, 27.4 and 25.2% of mothers, respectively. On comorbidity, 25.5% reported one problem, 20.5% reported two and 7.3% reported all three problems. Mothers of first‐born infants reported more crying problems and comorbid problems. Mothers who described themselves as a ‘tense person’ reported more infant feeding problems. Maternal doubt and low self‐efficacy were consistently associated with each type of infant problem and comorbid problems (adjusting for other factors). Conclusion Mothers expressing doubt and low parenting self‐efficacy may benefit from additional support and guidance on normal infant behaviour.