Infant feeding type and maternal sleep during the postpartum period: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary The aim of this meta‐analysis was to examine the associations among infant feeding types, sleeping habits, and maternal sleep postpartum. Databases including Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied‐Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched in addition to reference lists from selected articles and other key references. A critical review of relevant articles from the data sources was conducted with attention to the infant feeding types and maternal night‐time sleep. The methodological quality was assessed systematically. The pooled mean difference was calculated. Narrative summaries were also used. A total of 6,472 participants from seven studies were included in the meta‐analysis. A random‐effects model demonstrated a significantly higher maternal night‐time sleep in breastfeeding mothers than non‐breastfeeding mothers with a pooled standardized mean difference of 0.24 h (95% confidence interval 0.03–0.46, p = 0.026). Co‐sleeping with infants during the night also increased the sleeping hours in breastfeeding mothers. Homogeneity was observed with a Tau 2 of 0.0308 and I 2 of 44.3%. Funnel plots, Egger's and Begg's tests revealed no evidence of publication bias. This systematic review and meta‐analysis demonstrated that breastfeeding may be associated with a longer night‐time sleep postpartum and the synthesis of the literature suggested that co‐sleeping with the infant was associated with longer sleep duration in breastfeeding women. Further research into factors involving maternal decisions on infant feeding types and their effects on maternal sleep is needed to better understand the mothers' attitude toward infant feeding and their own sleep.