Perceptions of Ghanaian Migrant Mothers Living in London towards Postnatal Depression during Postnatal Periods

Mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviors among first-generation voluntary African migrants: A systematic review

“…The eight selected articles included four quantitative [ 35 – 38 ] and four qualitative [ 39 – 42 ] studies. The studies included first-generation voluntary African migrant samples from Canada, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Spain, China, and Italy.…”

“…The studies included first-generation voluntary African migrant samples from Canada, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Spain, China, and Italy. Some studies noted the migrating country of their samples, with a limited number of African countries represented across studies: Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Zimbabwe [ 36 , 38 , 40 – 42 ]; with three studies stating that their sample were from sub-Saharan African [ 35 , 38 , 39 ]. Both quantitative and qualitative studies were cross-sectional, and used surveys and interview data collection methods, respectively.…”

“…All four qualitative studies investigated PND in first-generation voluntary African migrants [ 39 – 42 ], with three based on women in the UK [ 40 – 42 ]. Baiden & Evans [ 39 ] explored sociocultural factors that impact Black African newcomer women’s perception of mental health and the use of mental health services within a year after childbirth in Canada.…”

“…The neglected nurturer (neglect from health professionals; pretending to be OK to allow professionals to perform their duties); and (iii) Loneliness and coping (lack of emotional and practical support from partner often led to isolation, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation; self-reliance since participants were averse to the only help offered-medication therapy). In a similar study, Dei-Anane et al [ 42 ] explored perceptions about PND in Ghanaian migrant women in London, and identified that PND in these women was attributed to breastfeeding (causing pain and discomfort, although breastfeeding was also perceived as a sign of good motherhood), infant’s temperament (poor sleeping, being demanding), lack of support from partner, and accommodation problems (limited housing space).…”

“…Barriers were explored only in the studies, which investigated PND in migrant women of African origin [ 39 – 41 ]. Barriers identified included African cultural beliefs about mental health (e.g., bewitchment), cultural expectation to be a strong woman, cultural shame and stigma around mental health challenges, racial discrimination from health providers during maternal care, neglect from health visitors and midwives due to excessive focus on the child’s health and limited focus on the mother’s wellbeing, neglect from GPs, and GPs limited tendency to involve new mothers in treatment decisions, temporary immigration status (which often limits their accessibly to health care services), stress of navigating the health system [ 39 , 41 , 42 ], lack of support from partner, and lack of trust of others in community due to fear of stigma and profiling [ 40 , 41 ]. Facilitators of help-seeking behaviors reported in the other studies were proficiency in the English language ( p = 0.010) and a higher level of education ( p = 0.002)- in the USA migrant group [ 35 ]; sensitizing migrant women about maternal mental health and postpartum mental health services, reaching out to immigrant women, providing services that protest their confidentiality (e.g., online services) [ 39 ], and having access to health professionals that could provide a safe space for confidential conversations–in new-born mothers with PND [ 40 ].…”