Experiences of discrimination across the transition to parenthood and postpartum depression severity among Black women.

BACKGROUND

Postpartum depression is prevalent among Black women and associated with intersecting systemic factors and interpersonal discrimination. However, gaps remain in understanding pregnancy-related changes in discrimination experiences that influence postpartum mental health and could inform preventive interventions. We hypothesized that young Black women would experience increasing levels of discrimination across the transition to parenthood, heightening depression risk relative to non-pregnant peers.

METHODS

Participants comprised 335 Black primiparous women (ages 17-30 at delivery) and 335 age- and discriminationmatched non-pregnant controls from the Pittsburgh Girls Study. Self-reported discrimination experiences were collected at four timepoints: two years pre-pregnancy, one year pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and one year postpartum for the childbearing sample, with corresponding data from the non-pregnant sample across the same interval (matched pairwise).

RESULTS

Linear increases in discrimination were observed for the nonpregnant participants (BS = .480, SE = .090, p <.001), while childbearing participants showed no overall changes, though younger age predicted greater increases over time. For childbearing participants, both baseline discrimination (BI = .626, SE = .077, p < .001) and increasing discrimination (BS = 2.55, SE = .939, p < .01) predicted postpartum depressive symptoms, controlling for pre-pregnancy depression. Among non-pregnant participants, only baseline discrimination predicted later depression (BI = .912, SE = .081, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Experiencing increasing levels of interpersonal discrimination across the transition to parenthood may heighten postpartum depression risk among young Black women, indicating a need for interventions supporting well-being and promoting resilience before, during and after pregnancy.