The Malaysian Women's Experience of Care and Management of Postnatal Depression

Abstract

Objectives: Early detection and intervention for Maternal Postnatal Depression (PND) are imperative to prevent devastating consequences for mothers, babies, and families. However, there are no guidelines that explicitly focus on the management of PND in Malaysia. Consequently, it is unclear whether women with PND are receiving proper care and treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to explore Malaysian Women's experience in managing PND symptoms. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among 33 women attending Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinics in Kuala Lumpur. Data were obtained through a face-to-face semi-structured interview and analysed using framework analysis. Results: The women considered PND as a personal and temporary issue. Therefore, professional care was deemed unnecessary for them. Additionally, all Malay women considered religious approach as their primary coping strategy for PND. However, this was not the case for most Indian and Chinese women. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that women did not acknowledge the roles of Healthcare Practitioners (HCPs) in alleviating their emotional distress.Also, they perceived PND as a personal problem and less serious emotional condition. It is due to this perception that the women adopted self-help care as their primary coping strategy for PND. However, the coping strategy varied between different cultures. These findings underscore the importance of HCPs’ proactive action to detect and alleviate PND symptoms as their attitude towards PND may influence Women's help-seeking behaviour.

Meta Analysis: The Effect of Social Support in Preventing Postpartum Depression in Postpartum Mothers

“…The strong social support received by postpartum mothers from the people around them such as partners, parents, family, friends, and the surrounding environment greatly affect the minimization of the incidence of postpartum depression in mothers after giving birth. This explanation is in line with research by Arifin et al, (2021) which states that one way to overcome postpartum depression is to create a stress coping strategy, which strategy can be structured with the help and support of partners and people around the mother. Another study stated that the weak social support that mothers received after giving birth could increase the incidence of postpartum depression (aOR= 1.79; 95% CI= 0.92 to 3.48) (Sheeba et al, 2019).…”

“…The etiology of postpartum depression is a decrease in estrogen and progesterone as well as epigenetic and neuroendocrine changes. Symptoms include depression, loss of interest, lack of energy, insomnia or hypersomnia, difficulty concentrating, persistent doubts, changes in appetite, lethargy, suicidal ideation or attempts, feelings of unworthiness and guilt (Arifin et al, 2021).…”

Exploring the Views of Healthcare Practitioners on Postnatal Mental Illness Screening Among Malaysian Women

“…Among the symptoms reported by the women were 'loss of excitement', 'easily irritated', and 'feeling of not being normal.' Somatic symptoms such as loss of appetite and weight stated in the DSM-V were not widely reported [15]. Meanwhile, Vanderkruik et al [2] reported that the clinical features of postnatal psychosis were mood-incongruent delusions, hallucinations or delusions of control which were often associated with infant and self-harm.…”