Abstract
BackgroundRefugee women are almost five times more likely to develop postpartum depression than Canadian-born women. This can be attributed to various difficulties they faced before coming to Canada as well as during resettlement. Moreover, refugee women usually face many obstacles when accessing health services, including language and cultural barriers, as well as unique help-seeking behaviors that are influenced by various cultural and practical factors. There has been a recent, rapid influx of Syrian refugees to Canada, and many of them are childbearing women. However, little is known about the experiences that these women have encountered pre- and post-resettlement, and their perceptions of mental health issues. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand refugee women’s experiences of having a baby in Canada from a mental health perspective.MethodsA mixed methods research design included 12 Syrian refugee women who migrated to Saskatoon in 2015–16 and who were either pregnant or 1 year postpartum. The data were collected during a single focus group discussion and a structured questionnaire.ResultsOur results showed that more than half of participants have depressive symptoms, half of them have anxiety symptoms, and one sixth have PTSD symptoms. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative data: 1) Understanding of maternal depression; 2) Protective factors for mental health; and 3) Barriers to mental health services.ConclusionsMaternal depression is an important feature in Syrian refugee women recently resettled in Canada. Reuniting these women with their families and engaging them in culturally appropriate support programs may improve their mental health outcomes.
Highlights
Refugee women are almost five times more likely to develop postpartum depression than Canadian-born women
Participants were recruited from local outreach programs, which had experienced an influx of Syrian refugee women
We were aware that the discussion may trigger physical or psychological symptoms, we provided them brochures and handouts with contact information of the available resources and local materials related to maternal mental health translated into Arabic
Summary
Refugee women are almost five times more likely to develop postpartum depression than Canadian-born women. This can be attributed to various difficulties they faced before coming to Canada as well as during resettlement. For most women, having a baby is a joyful experience; but, for 10–19% of pregnant women and 9–14% of women postnatally worldwide, it can bring stress, anxiety, depression, and moodiness [1] These figures are more pronounced in developing nations, where between 15 and 57% of women experience maternal depression (depression during pregnancy and/or up to one-year postpartum) [2]. In Canada, refugee, immigrant, and asylum-seeking women are reported to experience almost five times more. Asylum-seekers are fleeing a threatening situation in their home country and usually seek protection after their arrival in the new country [9]
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