Sleep and Mother-Baby Regulation (SLMBR)

Childhood trauma, especially adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), has been associated with vulnerability to psychiatric disorders but understudied in relation to perinatal mental health. Sleep disturbance, a common perinatal complication, has been linked to childhood trauma as well as poor health outcomes for mothers and infants, including perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) and infant sleep disturbance. Few studies have examined childhood trauma, sleep, inflammation, and PMAD in a prospective perinatal study, and no known studies have included the association with infant sleep regulation. The long-term goal is to understand the role of maternal sleep and inflammation in PMAD, and the influence on infant sleep regulation. The objective of this grant is to identify patterns of perinatal sleep and inflammation that may contribute to symptoms of PMAD and infant sleep disturbance. The central hypothesis is that disrupted prenatal sleep contributes to inflammation, PMAD, and infant sleep disturbance, particularly for women with childhood trauma.