Whether self-reported late-pregnancy sleep quality (Jenkins Sleep Scale) is associated with weight growth trajectories from birth to age 2 years in children of Hispanic mothers in Los Angeles (2015–2026 prospective cohort, n=645 mother-child pairs).
Children of mothers with poor sleep quality (≥75th percentile Jenkins Sleep Scale) weighed less at 0–6 months but showed accelerated growth thereafter; by age 1 year, children of mothers at the 90th vs. 25th percentile had a mean weight difference of 346.7 g (95% CI: 102.3–591.1 g), peaking at 17 months with a difference of 751.5 g (95% CI: 432.0–1,070.9 g).
Single-site Hispanic cohort in Los Angeles limits generalizability to other ethnic or geographic groups. Sleep quality was self-reported via the Jenkins Sleep Scale, which may introduce measurement error. Associations were not explained by feeding practices but residual confounding from unmeasured factors cannot be ruled out.
Clinicians should screen for poor sleep quality in late pregnancy, especially in Hispanic women, as it is linked to a pattern of lower early infant weight followed by accelerated growth by ages 1–2—a trajectory associated with later metabolic risk. Intervening on maternal sleep health during pregnancy may be a modifiable target for reducing early childhood obesity risk.
