0165 The Relationships between Early Maternal Sleep and Mother-Infant Bonding, and Infant Bedtime Difficulty Later: A Path Analysis

Abstract Introduction Infant sleep is influenced by biopsychosocial factors. However, the influences of early parental quality and parent-infant bonding on infant development are underexplored. This study aimed to examine relationships between maternal mother-infant at 8 weeks postpartum, bedtime difficulty 3 months postpartum. Methods a secondary analysis from Snuggle Bug/Acurrucadito Study, an observational, longitudinal cohort investigating associations 24-hr sleep-wake patterns, gut microbiome, weight among infants. Mothers (n=60, 31.5±5.4y, 66.3% married, 40.8% Hispanic, 41.5% < bachelor’s degree) their full-term (≥37wk), singleton infants without major complications were recruited Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. At weeks, age, mothers completed Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, range:0-21, higher scores indicate worse quality), reported difficulty, using 5-point Likert scale (range:1-5) with indicating greater difficulty. Mother-infant was measured Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ, range:0-125) 8-week problems. Based Transactional Model Sleep, path analyses conducted identify direct effect PSQI scores, indirect effects PBQ total 3-month z for all variables 3-week as covariate. Results means PSQI, PBQ, 5.8±2.6, 5.3±4.7, 2.4±1.0, respectively. Bedtime 2.0±1.0. After adjusting not directly associated (β=.005, 95%CI [-0.31, 0.32]) or (β=-0.14, [-0.43, 0.14]), whereas significantly mediated relationship (β=0.1, [0.02, 0.22]). Conclusion highlighted that may disrupt bonding, which, in turn, increase later development. Future research should investigate how best support healthy family relationships. Support (if any) NIH/NHLBI R01HL147931