Prevalence and associated factors of postpartum depression among immigrant women in Guangzhou, China

Aiwen Deng,Ribo Xiong

doi:10.1186/s12884-020-02946-4

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough there has been mounting research on postpartum depression (PPD), the impact of immigration on PPD has remained quite unexplored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of PPD among immigrant women living in Guangzhou at 6 weeks postpartum.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1230 immigrant women in a tertiary hospital of Guangzhou from December 2016 to December 2017 at 6 weeks postpartum. The Chinese version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and a structured questionnaire regarding associated factors were administered to all participants. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors that were significantly associated with PPD.ResultsThe prevalence of PPD among immigrant women at 6 weeks postpartum was 34.0%. A multivariate logistic regression model identified significant obstetric and social factors as: living in Guangzhou for less than 2 years, insufficient family income, poor social support and marital relationship.ConclusionPrevalence of PPD among immigrant women from Guangzhou at 6 weeks postpartum is high. The development of PPD among immigrant women is associated with individual and social factors. There’s an urgent need for healthcare providers to take a more active role in engaging immigrant women in their psychological needs.

Highlights

There has been mounting research on postpartum depression (PPD), the impact of immigration on PPD has remained quite unexplored
A recent systematic review found that immigrant women are twice as likely to experience PPD as nonimmigrant women [5]
Out of 1230 immigrant women who were enrolled in the assessment, we have reported that 418 women screened positive for PPD with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at a cut-off point of 10, resulting in a prevalence of 34.0%

Summary

Introduction

There has been mounting research on postpartum depression (PPD), the impact of immigration on PPD has remained quite unexplored. A growing number of studies suggest that immigrant women may be at increased risk of depression prenatally and postnatally [2,3,4]. In a cross-sectional study conducted in Tokyo, Japan, migrant Chinese women had elevated depression symptoms postnatally than Japanese-born women [6]. Several studies conducted in Ontario, Canada have found migrant Chinese women had increased risk of PPD compared to their Canadian-born counterparts [7, 8]. The status of PPD among Chinese internal migrants have remained quite unexplored. This is a significant limitation given the rapidly changing demographics in the south area of China where about 1 in 3 are identified as immigrants

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