An emerging concern for health care providers is how to assist immigrant and refugee women adapt to a new milieu and to cope with postpartum depression (PPD). Thirty women were interviewed to find out their perspective on what factors influence their help-seeking behavior and decision making about postpartum care and what strategies would be helpful in PPD prevention and treatment. Findings reveal that (a) social support networks can be supportive or nonsupportive with widespread effects on physical and psychological health and well-being; (b) cultural background and socioeconomic factors influence seeking support; (c) health care relationship was viewed a critical determinant to seek and accept help for PPD.
As they attempt to settle and adapt into Canadian society, new immigrants and/or refugees fathers face multiple stressors, some of which include underemployment or unemployment, social isolation, and changing roles within the family. Through a qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with 20 Sudanese refugee men recruited through a criterion sampling process based primarily on length of residency and age of children in Canada, this paper examines their perceptions and experiences as fathers in a large urban centre in Canada. Insights on the meaning of fatherhood, the values that guide their behaviour as fathers, their interactions with and aspirations for their children, and the challenges these men encounter as fathers in Canadian society are also provided.
Most immigration studies focus on the negative consequences of immigration for families and for parenting. Immigration is also viewed as a factor that undermines fathers’ capacity to implement their fathering roles. The impact of immigration on fathers has received very little attention. This paper is based on 54 interviews with immigrant fathers to Canada and Israel. Based on qualitative data, the paper investigates immigrant fathers’ perceptions of fatherhood in the midst of cultural change. This paper challenges the widely held notion that immigration itself is a risk factor for fatherhood. It focuses rather on the systemic barriers and obstacles facing immigrant fathers in their new country and the positive opportunities this change presents. Implications for intervention and policies concerning immigrant families are discussed.
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