Background Maternal depression is a leading cause of disease burden for women worldwide; however, there are ethnic inequalities in access to psychological interventions in high-income countries (HICs). Culturally appropriate interventions might prove beneficial for African and Caribbean women living in HICs as ethnic minorities. Methods The review strategy was formulated using the PICo (Population, phenomenon of Interest, and Context) framework with Boolean operators (AND/OR/NOT) to ensure rigour in the use of search terms (“postpartum depression”, “maternal depression”, “postnatal depression”, “perinatal depression” “mental health”, “psychotherapy” “intervention”, “treatment”, “black Caribbean”, “black African”, “mothers” and “women”). Five databases, including Scopus, PsycINFO, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), ProQuest Central and Web of Science, were searched for published articles between 2000 and July 2020. 13 studies met the inclusion criteria, and the relevant data extracted were synthesised and thematically analysed. Results Data syntheses and analyses of included studies produced four themes, including (1) enhance parenting confidence and self-care; (2) effective mother–child interpersonal relationship; (3) culturally appropriate maternal care; and (4) internet-mediated care for maternal depression. Conclusion In the quest to address maternal mental health disparities among mothers of African and Caribbean origin in HICs, the authors recommend culturally adapted psychological interventions to be tested in randomised control trials.

Objectives: There is an increasing mental health disease burden in mothers with infants and young children, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. Children of distressed mothers suffer early-life exposure from the effects of maternal distress which contributes to the risk of physical and mental health problems in their childhood and beyond. This study explored mental health lived experiences of mothers in Jos, Nigeria. Methods: Purposive and Snowball sampling techniques were adopted, and a total of 40 mothers participated with 8 to 11 participants in one of the four focus group discussions. Participants were between the ages of 18 and 43 years, self-identified as mothers with each having a child between the ages of 3 and 48 months. Each focus group lasted approximately 60 minutes and was audio-recorded. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Three overarching themes emerged from the data set such as (1) experience of persisting psychological distress from the time of labour/birth; (2) cultural practices that influence feelings; and (3) anxiety due to limited knowledge about childcare, access to support and healthy food. Conclusion: Maternal mental health in Nigeria is under-researched and distressed mothers have limited knowledge about evidence-based early child development. The study recommends developing and testing culturally appropriate parenting interventions in Jos, Nigeria. This is likely to be beneficial for the mother and may also improve child health outcomes.

Maternal mental health distress has a disease burden of severe adverse effects for both mother and child. This review identified maternal mental health concerns, their impact on child growth and the current practice of maternal healthcare for both mothers and their children in Nigeria. The Population, phenomenon of Interest and Context (PICo) model was adopted to formulate the review strategy, and five databases were searched for published articles between 1999 and 2019. Databases include Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts and Web of Science. Boolean operators (AND/OR/NOT) helped to ensure rigorous use of search terms which include ‘maternal’, ‘pre/peri/postnatal’, ‘mental health’, ‘mental illness’, ‘disorders’, ‘intervention,’ ‘Nigeria’, ‘child’, ‘infant growth’, and ‘wellbeing’. Thirty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, and extracted data were qualitatively synthesised and analysed thematically. Five themes emerged. These include (i) marital difficulties, (ii) relationship status of the mother, (iii) child’s gender, (iv) mode of child delivery and (v) child growth and development. The review showed a significant paucity of literature on the impact of specific maternal mental health problems on child physical growth and cognitive development. We concluded that culturally appropriate and evidence-based psychological interventions for maternal mental health problems would benefit Nigerian indigenous mothers. Therefore, the study recommends randomised controlled trials that are culturally appropriate and cost-effective for distressed mothers with children.

Background: Women are likely to suffer from maternal depression due to childbirth difficulties and parenting responsibilities, leading to long-term negative consequences on their children and families. British mothers of African/Caribbean origin uptake of mental healthcare is low due to the lack of access to culturally appropriate care. Methods: A mixed-methods randomized controlled feasibility trial was adopted to test the appropriateness and acceptability of Learning Through Play plus Culturally adapted Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (LTP+CaCBT) for treating maternal depression compared with Psychoeducation (PE). Mothers (N = 26) aged 20-55 were screened for depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Those who scored >5 on PHQ-9 were further interviewed using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule to confirm the diagnosis and randomized into LTP+CaCBT (n = 13) or PE (n = 13) groups. Assessments were taken at baseline, end of the intervention at 3-and 6-months post-randomization. N = 2 focus groups (LTP+CaCBT, n = 12; PE, n = 7) and N = 8 individual interviews were conducted (LTP+CaCBT, n = 4; PE, n = 4).Results: The LTP+CaCBT group showed higher acceptability, feasibility and satisfaction levels than the PE group. Participants experienced the intervention as beneficial to their parenting skills with reduced depression and anxiety in the LTP+CaCBT compared to the PE group.Conclusions: This is the first feasibility trial of an integrated online parenting intervention for British African and Caribbean mothers. The results indicated that culturally adapted LTP+CaCBT is acceptable and feasible. There is a need to study the clinical and cost-effectiveness of LTP+CaCBT in an appropriately powered randomized control trial and include the child's outcomes.Trial registration. www.ClinicalTrials.gov (no. NCT04820920).

Background Bipolar Disorders (BDs) are chronic mental health disorders that often result in functional impairment and contribute significantly to the disability-adjusted life years (DALY). BDs are historically under-researched compared to other mental health disorders, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria. Design We adopted a mixed-methods design. Study 1 examined the public knowledge of BDs in relation to sociodemographic outcomes using quantitative data whilst Study 2 qualitatively assessed the lived experiences of patients with BDs, clinicians, and family caregivers. Methods In Study 1, a non-clinical sample of n = 575 participants responded to a compact questionnaire that examined their knowledge of BDs and how they relate to certain sociodemographic variables. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse quantitative data. Study 2 interviewed N = 15 participants (n = 5 patients with BDs; n = 7 clinicians; n = 3 family caregivers). These semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed. Results In Study 1, findings showed no statistically significant differences, suggesting low awareness of BDs, especially among vulnerable populations such as young people and older adults. However, there was a trajectory in increased knowledge of BDs among participants between the ages of 25–44 years and part-time workers compared to other ages and employment statuses. In Study 2, qualitative findings showed that BDs are perceived to be genetically and psycho-socially induced by specific lived experiences of patients and their family caregivers. Although psychotropic medications and psychotherapy are available treatment options in Nigeria, cultural and religious beliefs were significant barriers to treatment uptake. Conclusions This study provides insight into knowledge and beliefs about BDs, including the lived experiences of patients with BDs, their caregivers and clinicians in Nigeria. It highlights the need for further studies assessing Nigeria's feasibility and acceptability of culturally adapted psychosocial interventions for patients with BDs.