The Impact of Child Characteristics on Mothers' Sleep Patterns

The sleep patterns of 45 mothers of children with moderate to severe multiple disabilities, 45 mothers of children with Down syndrome, and 45 mothers of typically developing children were compared by means of a 7-day diary. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 5 years. The Caregiver's Activity and Recording of Events (CARE) Inventory was completed by each subject to record mothers' activities in half-hour segments throughout a 24-hour day. Activities were coded into nine categories including rest/sleep. The three groups of mothers were compared on total hours of rest/sleep per day, number of sleep interruptions, reason for sleep interruptions, influences of siblings of target children, and number of times the father attended to the target child during the night as perceived by the mother. Surprisingly, the results indicated that mothers of children with multiple disabilities reported more sleep than did mothers in the other two groups. There were no significant differences found among the groups in the following: amount of weekly daytime sleep; frequency and duration of child-related interruptions per week; number of nights of uninterrupted sleep per week; maximum number of sleep interruptions in one night; and mothers' perception of fathers' nighttime assistance. The data indicated that many mothers in all three groups experienced numerous weekly sleep interruptions, particularly mothers of infants 6 to 12 months of age. Professionals working with mothers of young children must consider the effects of shortened and interrupted sleep patterns on the day time functioning and health of mothers and the effect on the well-being of the entire family.