Investigating the Effect of Oral Probiotic Capsules on Postpartum Sleep Quality in Primiparous Women: A triple-blind randomised controlled trial.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
- 2Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
- 3Faculty of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
- 4Department of Biostatistics, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Objectives
Quality of sleep is an important indicator of health. Sleep disturbance and daytime fatigue is one of the most common problems in the postpartum period. Early postpartum (first 4 weeks) is when sleep is most disturbed. The gut microbiota may affect sleep quality and affect host health through the production of metabolites and compounds. This study aimed to determine the effect of oral probiotic capsule on the quality of sleep after delivery in primiparous women.Method
This triple-blind randomised controlled trial study was conducted in August to November 2023 with eligible primiparous women who gave birth at Health Centers No. 2 and 3, Mashhad, Iran. The participants were randomly and equally divided into two groups: (1) the probiotic group, which received probiotic capsules (containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. lactis and B. longum) and (2) the placebo group, which received placebo capsules. All participants received one capsule daily from the third day after delivery for 30 days. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire was completed before and after the study. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests, T-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for statistical analysis. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results
A total of 60 women were included in this study (n = 30 for each group). The two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic and obstetric characteristics except for body mass index. Before the intervention, the overall score of postpartum quality of sleep in the probiotic and placebo groups was 9.66 ± 6.21 and 11.70 ± 6.68, respectively; after the intervention, the probiotic group had a score of 6.16 ± 2.75 with the score difference of -3.50 ± 5.53 and the placebo group a score of 6.60 ± 2.66 with the score difference of -5.10 ± 6.31 with a statistically significant difference in the intervention group compared to the placebo (P = 0.003).Conclusion
Consumption of probiotic capsules improves the quality of sleep and maternal health in the postpartum period.
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BibTeX
@article{rastegar2026investigating,
title = {{Investigating the Effect of Oral Probiotic Capsules on Postpartum Sleep Quality in Primiparous Women: A triple-blind randomised controlled trial.}},
author = {Maryam Rastegar and Nahid Jahani Shoorab and Roshanak Salari and Sedigheh Rastaghi},
journal = {Sultan Qaboos University medical journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.18295/2075-0528.3013},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948779},
note = {CC BY-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Investigating the Effect of Oral Probiotic Capsules on Postpartum Sleep Quality in Primiparous Women: A triple-blind randomised controlled trial.
AU - Maryam Rastegar
AU - Nahid Jahani Shoorab
AU - Roshanak Salari
AU - Sedigheh Rastaghi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Sultan Qaboos University medical journal
DO - 10.18295/2075-0528.3013
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948779
AB - Objectives Quality of sleep is an important indicator of health. Sleep disturbance and daytime fatigue is one of the most common problems in the postpartum period. Early postpartum (first 4 weeks) is when sleep is most disturbed. The gut microbiota may affect sleep quality and affect host health through the production of metabolites and compounds. This study aimed to determine the effect of oral probiotic capsule on the quality of sleep after delivery in primiparous women.Method This triple-blind randomised controlled trial study was conducted in August to November 2023 with eligible primiparous women who gave birth at Health Centers No. 2 and 3, Mashhad, Iran. The participants were randomly and equally divided into two groups: (1) the probiotic group, which received probiotic capsules (containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. lactis and B. longum) and (2) the placebo group, which received placebo capsules. All participants received one capsule daily from the third day after delivery for 30 days. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire was completed before and after the study. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests, T-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for statistical analysis. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results A total of 60 women were included in this study (n = 30 for each group). The two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic and obstetric characteristics except for body mass index. Before the intervention, the overall score of postpartum quality of sleep in the probiotic and placebo groups was 9.66 ± 6.21 and 11.70 ± 6.68, respectively; after the intervention, the probiotic group had a score of 6.16 ± 2.75 with the score difference of -3.50 ± 5.53 and the placebo group a score of 6.60 ± 2.66 with the score difference of -5.10 ± 6.31 with a statistically significant difference in the intervention group compared to the placebo (P = 0.003).Conclusion Consumption of probiotic capsules improves the quality of sleep and maternal health in the postpartum period.
SN - 2075-051X
SN - 2075-0528
ER -