Maternal depression in Syrian refugee women recently moved to Canada: a preliminary study

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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-017-1433-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cultural Brokering with Syrian Refugee Families with Young Children: An Exploration of Challenges and Best Practices in Psychosocial Adaptation

“…These findings are consistent with reports on psychological, emotional, and behavioural concerns carried over into resettlement (e.g., depression, anxiety, loss of hope, insecurity, post-traumatic stress; Abo-Hilal & Hoogstad, 2013; Kroo & Nagy, 2011;Seddio, 2017). Our findings echo previous concerns regarding mental health problems within parent refugee populations (Ahmed et al, 2017;McFarlane, Kaplan, & Lawrence, 2011), Running Head: CULTURAL BROKERING WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES and how these may contribute to long-term psychological challenges in children (Cicchetti, Toth, & Lynch, 1997) due to the resultant threats to family bonds and attachment systems with children.…”

“…For example, 56% of Syrians in a Jordanian refugee camp reported the presence of psychological distress symptoms of anger, fearfulness, nervousness, difficulty sleeping, hopelessness, and spells of terror or panic (Ghumman, McCord, & Chang, 2016). Another study found over 50% of Syrian refugee women Running Head: CULTURAL BROKERING WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES participating, who were either pregnant or post-partum, reported depression and anxiety (Ahmed, Bowen, & Xin Feng, 2017).…”

Exploring the State of Gender-Centered Health Research in the Context of Refugee Resettlement in Canada: A Scoping Review

“…Evidence suggests that women experienced the most isolation during the post-partum period, which heightened risk of post-partum depression (PPD) [ 31 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Further risk factors for mental illness, PPD in particular, included low income, food insecurity, low levels of education, concern for family left behind in war zones [ 39 ], and prior experience of abuse [ 54 ].…”

Syrian Refugee Families with Young Children: An Examination of Strengths and Challenges During Early Resettlement

“…Given that young children's emotional wellbeing is highly dependent on that of their caregivers, refugee parent mental health is an area of concern (McFarlane, Kaplan, & Lawrence, 2011;Saile, Ertl, Neuner, & Catani, 2014) and can also indirectly influence children's well-being and adaptation (Betancourt & Khan, 2008;Henley & Robinson, 2011). While more research is needed in this area in relation to Syrians, emerging research suggests some Syrian parents have struggled with mental health challenges including depression and anxiety amongst women who were pregnant or post-partum (Ghumman, McCord, & Chang, 2016) and general psychological distress in the form of nervousness, sleep difficulties, hopelessness, anger and panic (Ahmed, Bowen, & Xin Feng, 2017). Other settlement-related challenges that parents of refugee children are contending with include finding adequate housing, unemployment, and limited access to appropriate healthcare (Carter & Osborne, 2009;Lake, 2016).…”