Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Interventions of Postpartum Depression in Refugees and Asylum-Seeking Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Refugee women are at an increased risk of developing postpartum depression (PPD) due to a combination of various psychosocial stressors. This systematic review aimed to outline the prevalence of PPD among refugee women and explore related risk factors and interventions currently in practice. Methods: A search was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Core Collection (Web of Science) for articles published until August 2022, yielding 1,678 records. Results: The prevalence of refugee and asylum-seeking women was 22.5% (n = 657/ 2,922), while the prevalence of non-refugee/asylum-seeking women with PPD was 17.5% (n = 400/2,285). Refugee/ asylum-seeking women face a unique set of issues such as domestic abuse, separation and lack of support, stress, pre-migrational experiences, prior history of mental illness, low income, and discrimination. Refugee/asylum-seeking women may benefit from support groups, individual support, self-coping mechanisms, and familial support. Conclusion: This review identifies that a higher prevalence of PPD in refugee and asylum-seeking women compared to other groups can potentially be attributed to the unique risk factors they face. This warrants the need for further research as studies on interventions for this condition are limited among this population.