The sun has set even though it is morning

Experiences and explanations of perinatal depression in an urban township, Cape Town

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2395089
AutoresThandi Davies (0000-0001-9626-0816, University of Cape Town, autor de correspondencia), Marguerite Schneider (0000-0002-1223-1266, University of Cape Town), Memory Nyatsanza (University of Cape Town), Crick Lund (0000-0002-5159-8220, University of Cape Town)
Año2016
Volumen53
Número3
Páginas286-312
Fecha de publicación2016-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461516632389
PMID26905932
OpenAlexW2279480388
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas16
Referencias citadas59

This study examined experiences and explanations of depression amongst Xhosa-speaking pregnant women, mothers, and health workers in an urban township in Cape Town, South Africa. The study was conducted as part of formative research for a randomised controlled trial to develop and evaluate a task-sharing counselling intervention for maternal depression in this setting. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 12 depressed and 9 nondepressed pregnant women and mothers of young babies, and 13 health care providers. We employed an in-depth framework analysis approach to explore the idioms, descriptions, and perceived causes of depression particular to these women, and compared these with the ICD-10 and DSM-5 criteria for major depression. We found that symptoms of major depression are similar in this township to those described in international criteria (withdrawal, sadness, and poor concentration), but that local descriptions of these symptoms vary. In addition, all the symptoms described by participants were directly related to stressors occurring in the women's lives. These stressors included poverty, unemployment, lack of support from partners, abuse, and death of loved ones, and were exacerbated by unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and the discovery of HIV positive status at antenatal appointments. The study calls attention to the need for specifically designed counselling interventions for perinatal depression that are responsive to the lived experiences of these women and grounded in the broader context of poor socioeconomic conditions and living environments in South Africa, all of which have a direct impact on mental health

Archaeology · Cape · Environmental health · Geography · Morning · Psychiatry · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Child Abuse and Trauma · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Psychology