Behavioural Interventions for Problematic Infant Sleeping and Cry/Fuss Behaviour: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses

Abstract

This systematic review and meta‐analyses aim to synthesise evidence about behavioural interventions to address dysregulated sleeping and cry/fuss behaviour in infants aged up to 12 months and the effects on infant behaviour and maternal mental health. A systematic literature search of English‐language publications was performed in November 2020 and updated in May 2023 using Medline, Embase, PsychInfo and Cinahl Plus. Twenty‐two papers reporting twenty studies met inclusion criteria of these sixteen papers reported both maternal and infant outcomes. Although, there is heterogeneity of the investigations, their results are broadly consistent. Parents who attended a behavioural intervention program for unsettled behaviours in infants reported improvement of their mental health and parenting confidence, and unsettled infant behaviours were improved including a reduction of night waking and cry/fuss behaviour. This review and meta‐analyse provides evidence that behavioural interventions show a mild to moderate improvement in unsettled infant behaviour and maternal mental health.