JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mental health disorders are the most common conditions of the perinatal period. They impact mothers’, babies, partners, and support networks. Yet, less than 15% of pregnant and postpartum women seek timely help for their mental healthcare. Low perinatal mental health knowledge and universal screening unacceptability are cited as significant deterrents to obtaining timely mental healthcare.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to examine how African mothers understand topics related to knowledge of prenatal and postnatal mental health and their influence on maternal and child outcomes, views on screening acceptability, and to determine factors associated with perinatal mental health knowledge and screening acceptability.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study surveyed 120 African immigrant women within two years of delivery in Alberta Canada from January 2020 to December 2020. Questions were drawn from the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-scale, with additional questions developed using a structured questionnaire regarding associated factors, knowledge, and screening acceptability. Respondents were eligible to participate if they were: 1) ≥18 years; 2) an Alberta resident; 3) had a live birth and infant is aged two years or younger; and 4) self-identified as African. Descriptive and multivariable regression analyses were conducted.

Results:

Among the 120 respondents, 46.5% were 31-35 years old, 76.1% employed, 92.1% were married, and 55.6% had had younger infants 0-12 months of age. More respondents had high levels of knowledge of postnatal (94.8%) than prenatal (51.2%) mental health. Acceptability of prenatal (75.2%) and postnatal (82.7%) screening was high. The majority (41.7%) of African mothers reported that when seeking help and support their first choice would be their partner. Acceptability of postnatal screening was a significant predictor of prenatal and postnatal mental health knowledge. Also, pre-and postnatal mental health knowledge were significant predictors of screening acceptability.

Conclusions:

Though African mothers’ knowledge of postnatal mental health is high, their prenatal mental health knowledge is limited. Prenatal and postpartum mental health interventions for African immigrant mothers in Alberta should target these knowledge gaps. The high acceptability of universal perinatal mental health screening among African mothers also provides a promising strategy for perinatal mental health literacy initiatives to build on in achieving optimal perinatal mental health.