Postpartum Traditions, Mental Health, and Help-Seeking Considerations Among Vietnamese American Women: a Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.
The purpose of this study was to explore Vietnamese American mothers' perceptions and experiences with postpartum traditions, postpartum depression (PPD), and mental health help-seeking behavior. Participants were 15 Vietnamese mothers who had given birth to at least one live infant within the previous year. A screening tool revealed that a third of the mothers had probable PPD. More than half reported having recent/current postpartum "sadness" during the interviews. Postpartum traditions played important roles in their well-being and maintaining strong cultural values. However, some reported feelings of isolation and the desire to be able to carry out postpartum traditions more frequently. Many who had reported sadness said that they would not seek professional help; all had felt that their condition was not "severe" enough to warrant help-seeking. Future PPD interventions should consider the importance of postpartum cultural traditions and address help-seeking barriers as ways to prevent the adverse effects of untreated PPD.
Department of Health Science and Recreation, San José State University, One Washington Square, MH 514, San José, CA, 95192, USA. van.ta@sjsu.edu.
Van M
VM
Ta Park
The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, San José State University, San Francisco, USA.
Deepika
D
Goyal
Department of Medicine, The University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Tung
T
Nguyen
The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, San José State University, San Francisco, USA.
Hong
H
Lien
Department of Health Science and Recreation, San José State University, One Washington Square, MH 514, San José, CA, 95192, USA.
Denise
D
Rosidi
D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires