The experiences of postnatal depression in women from black and minority ethnic communities in Wiltshire, UK.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the experiences of women suffering from postnatal depression in black and minority ethnic communities in Wiltshire, UK.

DESIGN

Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with women across Wiltshire with current and past experience of postnatal depression. EPDS data are also reported. Qualitative data (via telephone and face-to-face interviews) were also collected from GPs and health visitors who worked with these women.

RESULTS

Qualitative analysis identified four main themes that were part of the experience of postnatal depression for the women and the primary health care professionals in contact with them--issues specific to pregnancy and birth (including postnatal depression), issues specific to primary health care, issues relating to culture, and 'other' issues. This latter theme describes the multitude of problems that many of the women endured, e.g. family/marital problems, violence, drinking alcohol, bereavement, financial difficulties, unemployment, accommodation and (racial) harassment.

CONCLUSIONS

All the women had problematic lives, affected by a multitude of factors, and raised a number of serious concerns that related to health and social care. This has implications for practice and service provision, as demonstrated by the data from GPs and health visitors, in, for example, the provision of advice and information (and in different languages), training, improved communication and inter-agency working, in this area (where the research was conducted) and elsewhere in England. More research is needed to further explore the needs of women from minority ethnic groups, taking issues of, for example, cultural specificity and urbanity/rurality into account. Further research also needs to investigate ways of offering help and support to this patient group.