Characterizing the sleep location, patterns, and maternally perceived sleep problems of the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Objectives: To investigate potential sleep inequities between the infants of Māori and non-Māori mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, identify socio-ecological factors associated with infant sleep, and determine features of infant sleep that contribute to a mother-perceived infant sleep problem.

Design: Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Moe Kura: Mother and Child, Sleep and Well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand study when infants were approximately 12 weeks old.

Participants: 383 Māori and 702 non-Māori mother-infant dyads.

Methods: Chi-square and independent t-tests measured bivariate associations between maternal ethnicity and infant sleep characteristics. Multivariable and ordinal logistic regression models assessed the relative impact of different socio-ecological factors on infant sleep outcome variables.

Results: Key developmental markers of infant sleep did not differ by maternal ethnicity. There were some ethnicity-based differences in sleep location. Maternal ethnicity, maternal age, parity, maternal depression, maternal relationship status, life stress, breastfeeding, work status, and bedsharing were related to different dimensions of infant sleep, and to maternal perceptions of a sleep problem.

Conclusion: Sleep at 12weeks is highly variable between infants and is associated with numerous socio-ecological factors. Findings support a social determinants explanation for sleep health inequities seen later in childhood.