Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich Perinatal Mental Health Service, Queen Mary's Hospital, I Block, Frognal Avenue, Sidcup, DA14 6LT, London, UK.
Department of Women & Children's Health, School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, 10th Floor North Wing, St., Thomas' Hospital, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022 May 18;22(1):421. doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04698-9.
Approximately one in five women will experience mental health difficulties in the perinatal period. However, for a large group of women, symptoms of adverse perinatal mental health remain undetected and untreated. This is even more so for women of ethnic minority background, who face a variety of barriers which prevents them from accessing appropriate perinatal mental health care.
To explore minority ethnic women's experiences of access to and engagement with perinatal mental health care.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 women who had been diagnosed with perinatal mental health difficulties and who were supported in the community by a specialist perinatal mental health service in South London, United Kingdom. Women who self-identified as being from a minority ethnic group were purposefully selected. Data were transcribed verbatim, uploaded into NVivo for management and analysis, which was conducted using reflective thematic analysis.
Three distinct overarching themes were identified, each with two or three subthemes: 'Expectations and Experiences of Womanhood as an Ethnic Minority' (Shame and Guilt in Motherhood; Women as Caregivers; Perceived to Be Strong and Often Dismissed), 'Family and Community Influences' (Blind Faith in the Medical Profession; Family and Community Beliefs about Mental Health and Care; Intergenerational Trauma and Family Dynamics) and 'Cultural Understanding, Empowerment, and Validation' (The Importance of Understanding Cultural Differences; The Power of Validation, Reassurance, and Support).
Women of ethnic minority background identified barriers to accessing and engaging with perinatal mental health support on an individual, familial, community and societal level. Perinatal mental health services should be aware ethnic minority women might present with mental health difficulties in different ways and embrace principles of cultural humility and co-production to fully meet these women's perinatal mental health needs.
大约五分之一的女性会在围产期经历心理健康问题。然而，对于很大一部分女性来说，不良围产期心理健康的症状仍未被发现和治疗。对于少数民族背景的女性来说更是如此，她们面临着各种障碍，使她们无法获得适当的围产期心理健康护理。
探讨少数族裔女性获得和参与围产期心理健康护理的体验。
对 18 名在英国伦敦南部的一个专门围产期心理健康服务机构的支持下被诊断患有围产期心理健康问题的女性进行了半结构化访谈。这些女性自我认同为少数民族群体。有目的地选择了数据进行转录，上传到 NVivo 进行管理和分析，采用反思性主题分析进行分析。
确定了三个总体主题，每个主题都有两个或三个子主题：“少数民族女性的期望和经历”（身为母亲的羞耻和内疚；女性作为照顾者；被认为坚强而经常被忽视）、“家庭和社区的影响”（对医疗专业的盲目信任；家庭和社区对心理健康和护理的信念；代际创伤和家庭动态）和“文化理解、赋权和验证”（理解文化差异的重要性；验证、安慰和支持的力量）。
少数民族背景的女性在个人、家庭、社区和社会层面上都面临着获得和参与围产期心理健康支持的障碍。围产期心理健康服务机构应该意识到少数民族女性可能会以不同的方式表现出心理健康问题，并接受文化谦逊和共同生产的原则，以充分满足这些女性的围产期心理健康需求。
