Relationship Between Infant and Mother Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythm Pre- and Postpartum, in Comparison to an Infant With Free-Running Rhythm

Some infants show a free-running rhythm in their rest-activity. We do not know why, nor do we know exactly what the entrainment factors are for the development of the normal 24-h rest-activity rhythm. Actigraphic recordings on 10 primiparae during late pregnancy and these mothers and their infants during the 2nd, 6th, and 12th wks after birth were made over 3-5 continuous days to investigate maternal and infant entrainment. One infant showed a free-running rest-activity circadian rhythm. In late pregnancy, the period in the autocorrelogram of the mother with the free-running infant was longer than the significant period of the mean autocorrelogram of the mothers with non-free-running infants. The finding of this study indicates the free-running rhythm of infant is not reset by maternal entrainment factors.