Scorza Pamela, Owusu-Agyei Seth, Asampong Emmanuel, Wainberg Milton L
School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Kintampo Health Research Center, Kintampo, Ghana.
Int J Cult Ment Health. 2015;8(4):370-381. doi: 10.1080/17542863.2015.1037849. Epub 2015 Jul 6.
In low- and middle-income countries, perinatal depression (PND) has been associated with poor infant health outcomes, including frequency of infant diarrheal episodes, preterm delivery and low birth weight, and discontinuation or problems breastfeeding. Yet little is known about the awareness or expression of PND depression in Ghana. A total of 12 in-depth key-informant interviews were conducted with women who had experienced PND within the previous two-and-a-half years. Three focus-group discussions were conducted with new mothers ( = 11), grandmothers ( = 8), and fathers ( = 9) for contextual and supporting information. 'Thinking too much' was the term most commonly used to describe PND. The women saw their distress as caused largely by poverty, lack of social support, and domestic problems. Women sought help through family and religious organizations, rather than through medical services. Problems producing breast milk or breastfeeding were nearly universal complaints and suggest significant effects on infant health in the study area. These results present evidence to support the increasing consensus that depression presents in similar and disabling ways across cultures and contexts. This formative qualitative data is required to tailor depression prevention or treatment interventions to this particular socio-cultural context.
在低收入和中等收入国家，围产期抑郁症（PND）与婴儿健康不良后果相关，包括婴儿腹泻发作频率、早产和低出生体重，以及停止母乳喂养或母乳喂养问题。然而，在加纳，人们对围产期抑郁症的认知或表现知之甚少。对过去两年半内经历过围产期抑郁症的女性进行了总共12次深入的关键 informant访谈。与新妈妈（n = 11）、祖母（n = 8）和父亲（n = 9）进行了三次焦点小组讨论，以获取背景和支持信息。“想得太多”是最常用于描述围产期抑郁症的术语。这些女性认为她们的痛苦主要是由贫困、缺乏社会支持和家庭问题造成的。女性通过家庭和宗教组织寻求帮助，而不是通过医疗服务。乳汁分泌或母乳喂养问题几乎是普遍的抱怨，这表明在研究地区对婴儿健康有重大影响。这些结果提供了证据，支持越来越多的共识，即抑郁症在不同文化和背景下以相似且致残的方式表现出来。需要这些形成性定性数据来针对这一特定社会文化背景调整抑郁症预防或治疗干预措施。
