ABSTRACT
Women experience perinatal mental health problems (PMHP), such as anxiety and depression antenatally and/or postnatally. Among Asian countries, Pakistan has the highest prevalence of postnatal depression ranging from 28% to 63%. This study aimed to explore midwives' perceptions, understanding, thoughts, and feelings regarding perinatal mental health (PMH), as well as experiences and roles in identifying and managing perinatal women cases suffering from PMHP. A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory design was used. The study was conducted at Koohi Goth Hospital. Purposive sampling was used to recruit practicing midwives holding diplomas in midwifery and public health, and with at least two years of experience. Ten participants were recruited. Data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide, translated into Urdu. Interviews were audio recorded. Ethics approval was attained by the institutional Ethical Review Committee. Data analysis was done manually by using the content analysis steps described by Creswell. From the analysis, three themes emerged: 1) Dearth of PMH competencies; 2) Importance of PMH; and 3) Myths related to PMH. PMHP undermine mothers' and infants outcomes, thus, midwives should be competent in assessing and managing symptoms in perinatal women to reduce suffering.
Subject(s)
Midwifery , Infant , Female , Pregnancy , Humans , Mental Health , Pakistan , Mothers/psychology , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Contributing factors to COVID-19 vaccination intention in low-income and middle-income countries have received little attention. This study examined COVID-19-related anxiety and obsessive thoughts and situational factors associated with Pakistani postpartum women's intention to get COVID-19 vaccination. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study administering a survey by a telephone interview format between 15 July and 10 September 2020. SETTING: Four centres of Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children-Garden, Kharadar, Karimabad and Hyderabad-in Sindh Province, Pakistan. PARTICIPANTS: Women who were enrolled in our longitudinal Pakistani cohort study were approached (n=1395), and 990 women (71%) participated in the survey, of which 941 women who were in their postpartum period were included in the final analysis. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE AND FACTORS: COVID-19 vaccine intention, sociodemographic and COVID-19-related factors, Coronavirus anxiety, obsession with COVID-19 and work and social adjustment were assessed. Multiple multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with women's intentions. RESULTS: Most women would accept a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves (66.7%). Only 24.4% of women were undecided about vaccination against COVID-19, and a small number of women rejected the COVID-19 vaccine (8.8%). Women with primary education were less likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine willingly than those with higher education. COVID-19 vaccine uncertainty and refusal were predicted by having no experience of COVID-19 infection, childbirth during the pandemic, having no symptoms of Coronavirus anxiety and obsession with COVID-19. Predictors for women's intention to vaccinate themselves and their children against COVID-19 were similar. CONCLUSION: Understanding the factors shaping women's intention to vaccinate themselves or their children would enable evidence-based strategies by healthcare providers to enhance the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine and achieve herd immunity against Coronavirus.
