Sleep, mental health and wellbeing among fathers of infants up to one year postpartum: A scoping review

Karen Wynter; Lauren M Francis; Richard Fletcher; Nyanda McBride; Eileen Dowse; Nathan Wilson; Laura Di Manno; Samantha Teague; Jacqui A Macdonald; Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium

doi:10.1016/j.midw.2020.102738

Sleep, mental health and wellbeing among fathers of infants up to one year postpartum: A scoping review

Midwifery. 2020 Sep:88:102738. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2020.102738. Epub 2020 May 20.

Authors

Karen Wynter¹, Lauren M Francis², Richard Fletcher³, Nyanda McBride⁴, Eileen Dowse⁵, Nathan Wilson⁶, Laura Di Manno², Samantha Teague², Jacqui A Macdonald⁷; Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia; Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research - Western Health Partnership, Australia. Electronic address: k.wynter@deakin.edu.au.
² Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia.
³ Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia.
⁴ National Drug Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Australia.
⁵ School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Newcastle, Australia.
⁶ Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Australia, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Australia.
⁷ Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia.

PMID: 32521406
DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2020.102738

Abstract

Background: Sleep disturbance among adults has consequences for their health and functioning. Among mothers of infants, there is evidence that fatigue and sleep disturbance are significantly associated with depression, anxiety and impaired relationships with partners and infants. It is not known whether consistent evidence of such associations exists for fathers.

Purpose: The aim of this review was to describe what is known about fathers' sleep and its associations with mental health and wellbeing, in the first 12 months postpartum.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted, searching MEDLINE complete, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHL complete, from 1990 to 13 May 2019. Reference lists of relevant reviews were also searched. Articles were included if they were published in English, and reported on sleep among men cohabiting with their infants from birth to 12 months.

Findings: Thirty papers reporting on 27 separate studies met inclusion criteria. Sleep constructs and assessment of these varied greatly. While some measures of fathers' sleep improved, fathers' fatigue increased significantly with increasing infant age. In adjusted analyses, fathers' sleep problems were associated with poorer mental health, relationships with partners, and safety compliance at work.

Key conclusions: Health professionals should consider a brief assessment of fathers' sleep when they consult families with young infants. Psycho-education regarding management of poor infant sleep could help to prevent long-term fatigue and its consequences among fathers.

Keywords: Fathers; Fatigue; Mental health; Sleep; Wellbeing.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety / psychology
Fathers / psychology*
Fathers / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Infant
Male
Mental Disorders / etiology*
Mental Disorders / psychology
Parenting / psychology
Postpartum Period*
Sleep*