I D Like to Record the Interview If That S Okay with Everyone

Introduction

The general purpose of the interview is to understand how parents think about their babies’ sleep. The session is scheduled to take 90 minutes. Your answers will be used to help us design a longitudinal research study that we’ll be doing with infants between 2 and 6 months of age.

I’d like to record the interview if that’s okay with everyone

Now it would be great if we could go around and everyone could introduce yourself, just first names are fine, and tell us your baby’s name and how old he or she is,

So we can’t cover everything to do with sleep today, but I thought maybe we could start off by talking about…

TOPIC 1: Perceptions of infant sleep

When you think about the way that babies sleep what’s the first thing that comes to mind/what’s your first impression?

PROMPT: What other impressions do you have about infant sleep? What else comes to mind when you think about the way that babies sleep?

TOPIC 2: Expectations of infant sleep

What were your expectations about how your baby would sleep, before he or she was born?

PROMPT: What other expectations did you have about how your baby would sleep?

PROMPT: What was different from what you expected in how your baby actually sleeps? [I imagine that differences might come up automatically in answer to the first question, but in case…]

When you thought ahead, how did you think your baby’s sleep might change over the months between when they were born and now? PROMPT: What factors did you think might contribute to a change in your baby’s sleep?

PROMPT: SO, you’ve mentioned ______. Are there any other factors that might contribute to change in a baby’s sleep?

TOPIC 3: Experiences of infant sleep change over time

What are YOUR baby’s sleep patterns like?

How do they differ from how other people describe their babies’ sleep?

How does the baby’s sleep affect your own sleep?

PROMPT: Could you tell me a little more about that?/How exactly does the baby ______?

How has your baby’s sleep changed since he or she was first born?

PROMPT: How old was your baby when you noticed the biggest change in how your baby sleeps?

PROMPT: What factors do you think contributed to the change in your baby’s sleep?

How did the change that you noticed in your baby’s sleep affect your own sleep?

PROMPT: Did it affect your own sleep in any other way?

What kinds of things have you done to shape the way that your baby sleeps?

PROMPT: [clarify that could mean shaping time(s) during which baby sleeps, length of sleep or other issues]

What methods are you familiar with to shape the way a baby sleeps? What were some of the reasons that you wanted to shape how your baby sleeps?

TOPIC 4: Sleep location

Thinking about all the times in a day when your baby goes to sleep, where does he or she most often sleep?

PROMPT: What other places does your baby go to sleep?

PROMPT: [Make sure they’ve said where crib/bassinet/basket/sofa/chair etc. is located with reference to the parent]

PROMPT: [List all responses] Are there any other places that we’ve forgotten or left off the list?

Does the baby’s sleep place have to be a certain way for the baby to sleep there?

What are the differences in where your baby sleeps from where you expected he or she would sleep, when you were pregnant?

What are the reasons that your baby sleeps in other places than you expected?

How does where your baby sleeps affect your baby’s sleep?

PROMPT: Does it affect their sleep in any other way?

How does where your baby sleeps affect your own sleep?

PROMPT: Does it affect your sleep in any other way?

What do you think is the safest place for a baby to sleep?