Douglas & Hill (2013): Behavioural Sleep Interventions in First 6 Months (J Dev Behav Pediatr)
Sleep training in the first 6 months does not improve outcomes
Systematic review concluding that behavioural sleep interventions in the first six months of life do not improve outcomes for mothers or infants. The kinds of trials that would settle the harm question (large, long-term, with stress markers and attachment measures) have not been done.
Pamela Douglas and Peter Hill published a 2013 systematic review in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics titled "Behavioral sleep interventions in the first six months of life do not improve outcomes for mothers or infants." The team examined the published evidence on behavioral sleep training delivered to infants under six months of age and concluded that the interventions do not reliably improve infant sleep, maternal mood, or maternal sleep, and that there is no evidence supporting their use in this age range. The review also noted that the trials needed to resolve the harm question (large, long-term, with rigorous outcome measures including infant stress markers and validated attachment measures) have not been conducted. The review is widely cited in the academic conversation about sleep training but has not significantly shifted the popular literature, which continues to recommend behavioral approaches in this age range.
<6 months
Age range of focus
0
Improvement in maternal/infant outcomes
2013
J Dev Behav Pediatr publication
Not done
The trials needed to settle the harm question
Why it matters
The age range where sleep training is most commonly recommended (the first six months) is exactly where the systematic review concluded it does not work. The popular literature has not caught up to this finding.
This is one finding from the research library behind How to Birth a Mother. Everything here traces back to a study, a dataset, or a systematic review.