0818 Room-sharing and Bed-sharing: Reasons, Beliefs, and Sleep in Mothers and Toddlers from Mexican American Families

Abstract Introduction Sleep is essential for development, yet best practices in pediatric sleep are based on studies of primarily non-Latino White families, where rates of room-sharing, bed-sharing, and feeding to sleep are relatively low in toddlers. This ongoing study characterizes room-sharing and bed-sharing reasons, beliefs, practices, and sleep among mothers and toddlers in Mexican American families. Methods 51 Mexican American mothers (19-43 years; mean education 12.3 + 3.2 years) of toddlers (77% boys; 12-15 months) completed surveys in Spanish (67%) or English. Mothers and toddlers wore an actigraph for 7 nights. Surveys included Bed-sharing and Room-sharing Beliefs (poor parent sleep, poor child sleep, child dependent on parent for sleep, parent preference to have child nearby) and the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (sleep ecology, room-sharing reasons, sleep-related practices). Results Room-sharing was common (88%), with room-sharing reasons including parental preference to have child nearby (PREF, 53%), space/logistics (SPACE, 33%), and child needing parent to sleep (NEED, 13%). All NEED mothers reported bed-sharing with their toddler, with 50% of PREF and 47% of SPACE mothers reporting bed-sharing. SPACE mothers agreed that bed-sharing contributed to poor parent and child sleep more than PREF or NEED mothers (medium effect size). PREF mothers disagreed that bed-sharing made a child depend on parent for sleep more than the other groups (large effect size). Toddlers falling asleep at bedtime while feeding was common among all room-sharing mothers (SPACE=67%, PREF=88%, NEED=100%), although higher in bed-sharing families (96% vs. 65% own bed). Parent sleep timing (midpoint) was delayed 48 minutes for SPACE mothers vs. NEED mothers, while child sleep timing was 30 minutes delayed in bed-sharing toddlers and 54 minutes delayed in toddlers who fell asleep feeding. Toddlers who fell asleep feeding had a 35 minute longer sleep opportunity, but a 33 minute shorter sleep duration than non-feeding toddlers. Conclusion Early findings from our ongoing study of sleep in mothers and toddlers from Mexican American families suggest sleep ecology beliefs and practices differ from findings in U.S. non-Latino White families. Findings highlight the importance of cultural and ecological sensitivity when designing interventions to reduce sleep disparities and improve overall toddler health. Support (if any) R01HL163859