Abdollahi Fatemeh, Lye Munn-Sann, Md Zain Azhar, Shariff Ghazali Sazlina, Zarghami Mehran
Department of Public Health, College of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Department of Community of Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2011 Fall;5(2):5-11.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common health problem which affects women in the postpartum period. This is a brief note on its associated factors in women from different cultures.
A literature review was performed in MEDLINE and Pubmed from 1991 to 2008 and Magiran from 1991 to 2009. Additional articles and book chapters were referenced from these sources.
The prevalence of postpartum depression has been reported to be from 0.5% to 60% globally, and from 3.5% to 63.3% in Asian countries, in which Malaysia and Pakistan had respectively the lowest and highest rates. One of the factors contributing to PPD in Asian societies can be that women may not have the empowerment to reject traditional rituals that are imposed on them by their caregivers. Unsatisfactory pre-existing relationships between the mothers and their caregivers resulting in mothers experiencing difficulties during their confinement period may be another factor. Thirdly, some features of these traditional rituals may be the cause of tension, stress and emotional distress. Emotional conflicts caused by insistence on practice of traditional rituals during the postpartum period may lead to mental breakdown.
Health care professionals should be aware that the phenomenon in Asian cultures is as prevalent as European cultures. Moreover, further research needs to be conducted on the global prevalence of the experiences of childbearing women with depressive symptoms.
产后抑郁症（PPD）是一个影响产后女性的常见健康问题。本文简要介绍不同文化背景女性产后抑郁症的相关因素。
检索了1991年至2008年的MEDLINE和Pubmed数据库以及1991年至2009年的Magiran数据库，并参考了这些来源中的其他文章和书籍章节。
据报道，全球产后抑郁症的患病率为0.5%至60%，亚洲国家为3.5%至63.3%，其中马来西亚和巴基斯坦的患病率分别最低和最高。亚洲社会中导致产后抑郁症的因素之一可能是女性可能没有能力拒绝照顾者强加给她们的传统习俗。母亲与照顾者之间先前存在的不满意关系导致母亲在产褥期遇到困难可能是另一个因素。第三，这些传统习俗的一些特点可能是紧张、压力和情绪困扰的原因。产后坚持传统习俗引发的情感冲突可能导致精神崩溃。
医疗保健专业人员应意识到亚洲文化中的这一现象与欧洲文化一样普遍。此外，需要对有抑郁症状的生育女性的全球患病率进行进一步研究。
