Mother and Child Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2010 Aug;34(4):412-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00575.x.
Little is known about immigrant mothers' experiences of life with a new baby, apart from studies on maternal depression. Our objective was to compare the post-childbirth experiences of Australian-born and immigrant mothers from non-English speaking countries.
A postal survey of recent mothers at six months postpartum in Victoria (August 2000 to February 2002), enabled comparison of experiences of life with a new baby for two groups of immigrant women: those born overseas in non-English-speaking countries who reported speaking English very well (n=460); and those born overseas in non-English-speaking countries who reported speaking English less than very well (n=184) and Australian-born women (n=9,796).
Immigrant women were more likely than Australian-born women to be breastfeeding at six months and were equally confident in caring for their baby and talking to health providers. No differences were found in anxiety or relationship problems with partners. However, compared with Australian-born women, immigrant mothers less proficient in English did have a higher prevalence of depression (28.8% vs 15%) and were more likely to report wanting more practical (65.2% vs 55.4%) and emotional (65.2% vs 44.1%) support. They were more likely to have no 'time out' from baby care (47% vs 28%) and to report feeling lonely and isolated (39% vs 17%).
Immigrant mothers less proficient in English appear to face significant additional challenges post-childbirth. Greater awareness of these challenges may help to improve the responsiveness of health and support services for women after birth.
除了有关产妇抑郁的研究外，对于移民母亲的新生婴儿生活体验知之甚少。我们的目的是比较澳大利亚出生的母亲和来自非英语国家的移民母亲产后的经历。
2000 年 8 月至 2002 年 2 月在维多利亚州对产后 6 个月的近期母亲进行了邮寄调查，使我们能够比较两组移民妇女的新生婴儿生活体验：那些在海外非英语国家出生且自述英语说得很好的人（n=460）；以及那些在海外非英语国家出生且自述英语说得不好的人（n=184）和澳大利亚出生的妇女（n=9796）。
移民妇女在产后 6 个月时更有可能进行母乳喂养，并且对照顾婴儿和与医疗服务提供者交谈同样有信心。在焦虑或与伴侣的关系问题方面没有差异。然而，与澳大利亚出生的女性相比，英语水平较低的移民母亲抑郁的患病率更高（28.8%比 15%），并且更有可能报告需要更多的实际（65.2%比 55.4%）和情感（65.2%比 44.1%）支持。她们更有可能没有“时间离开”婴儿护理（47%比 28%），并报告感到孤独和孤立（39%比 17%）。
英语水平较低的移民母亲在产后似乎面临着重大的额外挑战。更多地了解这些挑战可能有助于改善女性产后健康和支持服务的响应能力。
