A qualitative study of the sleep ecology of infants under 2 years old and their mothers in South Korea

Abstract

Objectives/Design: Infancy is a crucial period for establishing an individual's sleep pattern, and it is a common period during which infants and mothers experience sleep problems. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the sleep ecology of infants under 2 years of age and their mothers. Setting/Participants: The study participants were 20 mothers with infants aged 3-19 months living in South Korea. Methods: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using the thematic analysis. Results: Five themes related to the sleep of infants and their mothers emerged from the data: (1) changes in sleep patterns, (2) room-sharing, (3) environmental factors affecting sleep, (4) efforts to improve sleep quality, and (5) infant sleep and the mother's health. The sleep patterns of infants and their mothers were mutually interrelated, and were strongly affected by various environmental factors, including infants’ biological maturity (a microsystem) as well as cultural factors (a macrosystem). Culture had an especially profound effect on sleep patterns of infants, similar to the effects of microsystem-level factors. Conclusions: To improve the sleep quality of infants and mothers, an ecological approach considering the biological characteristics and cultural contexts of infants is required based on an understanding of sleep as a phenomenon that evolves in a relationship of mutual influence between infants and mothers.