A Study on the Sleep/Activity Pattern in Newborn Baby

대전 지역 신생아의 수면/활동 양상에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to identify the sleep/activity patterns of neonates and to provide a baseline data in developing an effective maternal-child nursing intervention strategies. The subjects of this study were 57 normal newborn babies from birth to 4 weeks of age, who visited the Postpartum Care Center and two General Hospitals and One Local clinic in Taejon. The data were collected from October 28th, 1999 to April 28th, 2000. The instrument used in this study was NCASA developed by Barnard and validated by the Academic Society of Parent-Child Health. The data were analyzed with the SPSS PC+ 7.5 for window program using means, standard deviation, one-way ANOVA. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The mean amount of daytime sleep was 7.45 hours, nighttime sleep was 4.27 hours, and the total daily sleep was 11.72 hours. The mean amount of longest sleep period was 4.32 hours. The mean regularity of daytime sleep was 35.55%, the nighttime sleep was 44.82%, and the total daily sleep was 39.02%. The mean frequency of nighttime awakenings was 2.44 times. 2. The mean amount of daytime awake periods was 8.54 hours, the nighttime awake periods was 3.72 hours, and the daily total awake periods was 12.27 hours. The mean amount of the longest awake period was 3.98 hours. 3. The mean frequency of daytime feeding was 5.18 times, the nighttime feeding was 2.50 times, and the total daily feeding was 7.49. The mean of regularity of total daily feeding was 61.34%. 4. According to an analysis of sleep patterns based on newborn's age, there were some statistically significant differences noted in the following factors ; amount of nighttime sleep (F=7.65, p=.002), longest sleep period(F=5.84, P=.006). 5. According to an analysis of activity patterns based on newborn's age, there were some statistically significant differences noted in the following factors ; amount of nighttime activity (F=7.64, P=.002), longest activity period (F=4.34, P=.020), frequency of nighttime feeding(F=3.89, p=.029), frequency of total daily feeding(F=3.76, P=.033), and regularity of daily feeding(F=4.66, P=.016). In conclusion, the newborn baby slept more during the daytime than nighttime and more active during the daytime. And there were some irregular sleep/activity pattern noted during 1 to 2 weeks of newborn baby. The results of this study will contribute to maternal-child health nursing practice and nursing research, and provide an information to parents about what to expect their newborn baby.