Understanding Newborn-Mother Synchrony at Home: Feasibility of Remote Monitoring

Parents and newborns influence each other in a dynamic interaction that can be described as synchrony. Synchrony between a newborn and mother refers to the dynamic and reciprocal adaptation between the newborn and mother. In this synchrony, the mother is highly receptive and sensitive to the newborn's signals, feelings, and needs. The aim of this study is to investigate the physiological and behavioral synchrony between newborns and their mothers, and to investigate the connection between maternal heart rate variability and postpartum depression symptoms in the home environment and to evaluate the suitability of remote monitoring devices for use in the home environment.

The study participants consist of 30 newborns and 30 mothers. The inclusion criteria for newborns are: 1) informed consent from the newborn's parents/guardians 2) the newborn's health status has been confirmed as normal during hospital monitoring, and 3) the newborn is less than one month old. The inclusion criteria for mothers are: 1) ability to participate in Finnish, and 2) the mother has access to an Android smartphone.

Data collection will be carried out using the following remote monitoring methods: Emfit smart mattress, Zoundream Cry analyses technology, Polar Verity Sense sensor, and Empatica EmbracePlus sensor. In addition, data will be collected using background information forms, a maternal stress scale (PSS-4), a diary completed by the mother, a maternal depression questionnaire (EPDS), and questionnaires measuring the suitability of remote monitoring in the home environment, and a thematic interview. In addition, at the end of the data collection phase, the mothers participating in the study will try out the Companion App, which displays sample data on the well-being of newborns, and respond to a questionnaire on the usability of the app.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Synchrony
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Using monitoring devices

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Anna Axelin, Professor; Phone Number: +358405029905; Email: anmaax@utu.fi

Study Locations

• Finland
  • Turku, Finland
    • Recruiting
    • Turku University Hospital
    • Contact: Anna Axelin, Professor; Phone Number: +358405029905; Email: anmaax@utu.fi

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Study population consists of mother-newborn pairs.

Description

Inclusion Criteria, mothers:

• ability to participate in Finnish
• Android smart phone available

Inclusion Criteria, newborns:

• received informed consent from both parents/guardians
• the newborn's health has been stated normal during hospital stay
• the newborn is < 1-month of age

Exclusion Criteria, both (mother and newborn):

Not meeting the inclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Newborn	Other: Using monitoring devices; During the data collection, mother and newborn are using the monitoring devices listed in study description.
Mother	Other: Using monitoring devices; During the data collection, mother and newborn are using the monitoring devices listed in study description.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physiological synchrony	Measuring correlation between mother heart rate (mHR (unit: BPM)) and heart rate variability (mHRV (unit ms)) and newborn heart rate (bHR (unit: BPM)) and heart rate variability (bHRV (unit: ms)).	24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behavioral synchrony	Measuring the correlation between mother total sleep duration and duration of different sleep stages and newborn total sleep duration and duration of sleep stages (unit: hours and minutes).	24 hours
Correlation between mother heart rate variability and depressive symptoms	Measuring the correlation between mother heart rate variability (mHRV (units: ms)) and depressive symptoms (points from EPDS scale).	Duration of data collection varies from 1 to 4 weeks depending on the mother's decision.
Correlation between mother sleep and depressive symptoms.	Measuring the correlation between the duration of mother sleep stages (unit: hours and minutes) and depressive symptoms (points from EPDS scale).	Duration of data collection varies from 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the mother's decision.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Turku

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 13, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 12, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: #476745

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No