Refugee and Immigrant Women's Experience of Postpartum Depression: A Meta-Synthesis.

The aim of this work is to synthesize qualitative research on refugee and immigrant women's experiences of postpartum depression (PPD) to gain insight into the unique needs of this group of women. This population is more at risk of developing PPD due to a complexity of issues including pre- and postmigratory stressors; however, there is currently little research on this topic available to health care providers and policy makers. Thirteen articles met inclusion criteria, and five themes emerged from the meta-synthesis: (a) suffering in solitude, (b) the invisible illness, (c) cultural conceptualizations, (d) barriers to help seeking, and (e) facilitators of help seeking. Conclusions suggest immigrant women with PPD may lack understanding of their condition, are often isolated, are alone, fear stigmatization, and risk being considered an unfit mother. Raising awareness with health care providers of the meaning of PPD for immigrant women is key to the provision of effective care.

Irish midwives' experiences of providing maternity care to non-Irish women seeking asylum.

BACKGROUND: Immigration and asylum seeking has been an important social and political phenomenon in Ireland since the mid 1990s. Inward migration to Ireland was seen in unprecedented numbers from 1995 onward, peaking in 2002 with 11,634 applications for refugee status. Asylum and immigration is an issue of national and international relevance as the numbers of displaced people worldwide continues to grow, reaching the highest level in 20 years at 45.2 million in 2012. Midwives provide the majority of care to childbearing women around the world, whether working as autonomous practitioners or under the direction of an obstetrician. Limited data currently exist on the perspectives of midwives who provide care to childbearing women while they are in the process of seeking asylum. Such data are important to midwifery leaders, educators, and policy-makers. The aims of this study were to explore midwives' perceptions and experiences of providing care to women in the asylum process and to gain insight into how midwives can be equipped and supported to provide more effective care to this group in the future. METHODS: Data were collected via indepth unstructured interviews with a purposive sample of ten midwives from two sites, one a large urban inner city hospital, and the second, a smaller more rural maternity hospital. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the data, barriers to communication, understanding cultural difference, challenges of caring for women who were unbooked, the emotional cost of caring, and structural barriers to effective care. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight a need to focus on support and education for midwives, improved maternity services for immigrant women, and urgent policy revision.