Perinatal depression in migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border: does social support matter?
Perinatal depression in migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border: does social support matter?
Migrant and refugee women are at risk of perinatal depression due to stressors experienced before, during and after migration. This study assesses the associations between social support and perinatal depression among migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border. We conducted a cohort study of pregnant and post-partum women. Depression status was assessed using a structured clinical interview. Received support, perceived support and partner support were measured in the third trimester. Logistic regression was used to calculate associations between social support measures and perinatal depression controlling for demographic, socio-economic, migration, obstetric and psychosocial factors. Four hundred and fifty-one women (233 migrants; 218 refugees) were included. The prevalence of perinatal depression was 38.6% in migrants and 47.3% in refugees. Migrants had higher levels of received, perceived and partner support than refugees. After controlling for all other variables, higher levels of received support remained significantly associated with a lower likelihood of perinatal depression in migrants (adjusted odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.68-0.99). In both groups, depression history and trauma were strongly associated with perinatal depression. Our study highlights the importance of received social support to perinatal depression in migrant women on the Thailand-Myanmar border. The perinatal period offers a valuable opportunity to ask women about their support and offer community-level or public policy interventions to nurture support networks in current locations and resettlement destinations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health'.
Adult, Depression, Postpartum/epidemiology, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Myanmar/epidemiology, Prevalence, Refugees/psychology, Social Support, Thailand/epidemiology, Transients and Migrants/psychology, Young Adult
Fellmeth, Gracia
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Plugge, Emma
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Fazel, Mina
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Nosten, Suphak
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Oo, May May
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Pimanpanarak, Mupawjay
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Phichitpadungtham, Yuwapha
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Fitzpatrick, Raymond
bea5c739-8a31-41ad-995b-c91919bb4211
McGready, Rose
901b40d0-a81c-4d92-bebf-7573eb8df859
21 June 2021
Fellmeth, Gracia
691f80d3-fb29-4219-86ed-848b117e6f09
Plugge, Emma
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
Fazel, Mina
24c4df8f-d9e0-4d84-9353-cee4adafe55e
Nosten, Suphak
24e88f10-268e-478f-917c-151ebce920ad
Oo, May May
26fa0e18-56e4-4cbe-b7c0-68f8adff72e8
Pimanpanarak, Mupawjay
d9942e1a-7e32-4d64-b84a-e1619a38bcad
Phichitpadungtham, Yuwapha
864f54eb-4255-4e6b-acb6-112c7cd83828
Fitzpatrick, Raymond
bea5c739-8a31-41ad-995b-c91919bb4211
McGready, Rose
901b40d0-a81c-4d92-bebf-7573eb8df859
Fellmeth, Gracia, Plugge, Emma, Fazel, Mina, Nosten, Suphak, Oo, May May, Pimanpanarak, Mupawjay, Phichitpadungtham, Yuwapha, Fitzpatrick, Raymond and McGready, Rose
(2021)
Perinatal depression in migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border: does social support matter?
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 376 (1827), [20200030].
(doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0030).
Abstract
Migrant and refugee women are at risk of perinatal depression due to stressors experienced before, during and after migration. This study assesses the associations between social support and perinatal depression among migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border. We conducted a cohort study of pregnant and post-partum women. Depression status was assessed using a structured clinical interview. Received support, perceived support and partner support were measured in the third trimester. Logistic regression was used to calculate associations between social support measures and perinatal depression controlling for demographic, socio-economic, migration, obstetric and psychosocial factors. Four hundred and fifty-one women (233 migrants; 218 refugees) were included. The prevalence of perinatal depression was 38.6% in migrants and 47.3% in refugees. Migrants had higher levels of received, perceived and partner support than refugees. After controlling for all other variables, higher levels of received support remained significantly associated with a lower likelihood of perinatal depression in migrants (adjusted odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.68-0.99). In both groups, depression history and trauma were strongly associated with perinatal depression. Our study highlights the importance of received social support to perinatal depression in migrant women on the Thailand-Myanmar border. The perinatal period offers a valuable opportunity to ask women about their support and offer community-level or public policy interventions to nurture support networks in current locations and resettlement destinations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health'.
Text
fellmeth-et-al-2021-perinatal-depression-in-migrant-and-refugee-women-on-the-thai-myanmar-border-does-social-support
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 13 January 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 May 2021
Published date: 21 June 2021
Keywords:
Adult, Depression, Postpartum/epidemiology, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Myanmar/epidemiology, Prevalence, Refugees/psychology, Social Support, Thailand/epidemiology, Transients and Migrants/psychology, Young Adult
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485218
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485218
ISSN: 0962-8436
PURE UUID: 006e5b2d-6c5f-40b8-a8ba-f62024708d4c
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Date deposited: 01 Dec 2023 17:41
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 02:06
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Contributors
Author:
Gracia Fellmeth
Author:
Mina Fazel
Author:
Suphak Nosten
Author:
May May Oo
Author:
Mupawjay Pimanpanarak
Author:
Yuwapha Phichitpadungtham
Author:
Raymond Fitzpatrick
Author:
Rose McGready
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