Trauma, Emotion dysregulation, and prenatal sleep quality associations among maternal trauma history, prenatal emotion dysregulation, and prenatal sleep quality

Sleep is an increasingly recognized correlate and predictor of long-term mental and physical health. Those who have endured traumas throughout their lifespan may experience mental and physical health difficulties, including poor sleep quality. One group of individuals who are especially vulnerable to experiencing poor sleep quality are pregnant women, especially those who have experienced trauma. The overarching aim of this study was to examine how maternal trauma history may be related to sleep quality during pregnancy. We also examined if the relation between maternal trauma history and sleep quality varied across levels of emotion dysregulation, given our hypothesis that emotion regulation skills may buffer the effects of trauma on sleep quality. Eighty-six 3rd-trimester pregnant women aged 19-38 completed self-report measures pertaining to traumatic life experiences, emotion dysregulation, and subjective sleep quality. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that higher levels of emotion dysregulation predicted poorer sleep quality during pregnancy. Maternal trauma history did not predict prenatal sleep quality, nor did this relation vary across levels of emotion dysregulation. Given that poor prenatal sleep has been associated with negative maternal postnatal health outcomes, offspring development, and maternal-infant relationships, our study highlights the utility of improving emotion regulation skills during pregnancy as a means for also improving sleep quality. The current study is one of few to examine emotion dysregulation during pregnancy and provides additional evidence that it may be an important factor for identifying mental health concerns during pregnancy.