Infant sleep representation in the pregnant woman

Abstract

This study explored mothers' representations of infant sleep before the birth of their infants. 120 primiparas women were interviewed about their sources of information about infant sleep, whether infant sleep could or should be induced and how this might be done and about why infants wake. Most pregnant women believed that sleep is a spontaneous phenomenon, nevertheless they foresaw using sleep-inducing techniques. Caressing was preferred as a sleep-inducing technique, followed by rocking, talking and singing. Awakenings were mostly ascribed to malaise and hunger; sufficient sleep was rarely cited. The wide range of sleep-inducing techniques expectant mothers are willing to use, together with the contradictory belief about sleep spontaneity suggests that they do not have a consistent concept of infant sleep.