Postpartum Depression in Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Women: A Narrative Review

Aashni Shah, M.A. Marriage and Family Therapy Candidate; & Zvisineyi Chiromo, M.A. Marriage and Family Therapy Candidate., United States International University-Africa.

The trauma immigrant women face as a result of the migration journey from their homelands to often unexpected host nations increases their vulnerability and risk of developing post-partum depression, a debilitating mood disorder that affects women in their childbearing years. Although prevalent postpartum depression symptoms are commonly known, the factors that affect women from different geographies worldwide may present uniquely based on background, culture, and the perspectives of mental health manifestations in their regions. Collectively, these factors require a review in order to inform appropriate psychological interventions. Systematically, eleven key databases were searched and identified thirty papers that met the inclusion criteria. A methodological assessment of the articles was done and a general trend seen within the global population of immigrant women, that is, Sub-Saharan Africans face three unique and often overlooked factors of post-partum depression which at times overlap with but do not always present in their worldwide counterparts. The first factor is associated with the traumatic immigration journey, the second being the impact of social support, and thirdly, the challenges to accessing maternal mental health care services in the host country that places them at a higher risk of developing post-partum depression. This review highlights these issues and further suggests narrative therapy as a systemic intervention that can be used to mitigate postpartum depression within the host nations of these Sub-Saharan Immigrant women.

Keywords: African immigrant women, postpartum depression, trauma, narrative therapy, maternal mental health.