Maternal sleep disturbances during late pregnancy and child neuropsychological and behavioral development in early childhood

The present study aims to explore the association of maternal sleep disturbances during late pregnancy on child neuropsychological and behavioral development in preschool years. The study included 638 mother–child pairs from the prospective Rhea mother–child cohort in Crete, Greece. Information on antenatal sleep disturbances was collected through a computer-assisted interview. Children’s neuropsychological and behavioral development was assessed using the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities (MSCA), the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Test (ADHDT), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Multivariate analysis showed that maternal sleep duration less than 8 h was associated with reduced scores in the general cognitive scale (β = –2.28, 95% CI –4.54, –0.02, R2 = 0.417) and memory span (β = –3.24, 95% CI –5.72, –0.77, R2 = 0.304), while mild-severe daytime sleepiness was associated with reduced scores in the memory scale (β = –5.42, 95% CI –10.47, –0.37, R2 = 0.304), memory span (β = –5.44, 95% CI –10.68, –0.21, R2 = 0.304), nd functions of posterior cortex (β = –5.55, 95% CI –10.40, –0.70, R2 = 0.393) of MSCA. Snoring in late pregnancy was related to higher child hyperactivity scores in SDQ (β = 1.05, 95% CI 0.16, 1.95, R2 = 0.160). An interaction between child sex and maternal sleep duration in response to ADHD symptoms was also found (p for interaction < 0.05). Stratified analysis revealed increased hyperactivity, inattention, and ADHD total scores for girls of mothers with sleep duration less than 8 h. Maternal sleep disturbances during pregnancy may be associated with impaired child neuropsychological and behavioral development during the preschool years. Early detection and intervention is necessary to reduce sleep disturbances habits in pregnancy and improve child neurodevelopment.