The role of reproductive variables, anxiety, physical activity, on the sleep quality of lactating women referring to health care centers of Zanjan-Iran

Background: Mothers in the postpartum period experiences a change in sleep pattern and loss of sleep duration. In the meantime, factors can cause irregular sleep patterns and decreased sleep quality. Objectives: The aim of this study was investigating the factors of fertility, anxiety and physical activity on the sleep quality of the lactating women visiting healthcare centers in Zanjan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from 2018 to 2019 on 380 women aged 14-45 years referred Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital in Zanjan and its affiliated clinics who were maximally 6 months postpartum and selected by convenience sampling method. The measuring tools used in this study included Petersburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and a checklist containing demographic-fertility. Data were analyzed through SPSS software using descriptive and analytical tests (t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Chi-square). The statistical significance level was considered as p<0.05. Results: in this study 45.8% (n= 174) of the participants suffered from mild anxiety and 13.2% (n= 50) of them from moderate anxiety. The mean score of their sleep quality was 4.70± 3.06. The effect of physical activity (p-value= 0.006) and anxiety level (p-value= 0.002) on womenchr('39')s sleep quality was statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of the present study confirm the positive effect of regular physical activity and the negative effects of anxiety on sleep quality of the breastfeeding mothers.