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Addressing inequitable maternity service provision in England for asylum seeking and refugee women who present with symptoms of perinatal depression. A post-colonial feminist inquiry into the experiences of asylum seeking and refugee women and the midwives who care for them

Firth, Amanda
Publication Date
2022
End of Embargo
Supervisor
Haith-Cooper, Melanie
Hart, Andrew
Dickerson, J.
Keywords
Perinatal mental health, Perinatal depression, Refugee, Asylum seeker, Migrant women, Health inequalities, Midwives, Midwife, Maternity services
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Creative Commons License
The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
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Accepted for publication
Institution
University of Bradford
Department
Faculty of Health Studie
Awarded
2022
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PhD Thesis
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Abstract
Background: Perinatal depression disproportionately affects asylum seeking and refugee (AS&R) women, but they are less likely to receive support than other women. There is no published research which considers the assessment and support for symptoms of perinatal depression provided by midwives for AS&R women navigating England’s maternity services. Aim: To investigate how midwifery practice can be developed to support asylum seeking and refugee women with symptoms of perinatal depression. Methods: A post-colonial feminist inquiry consisting of a scoping survey (study one) and a qualitative research study (study two) using remote interviews with AS&R women and midwives. Qualitative data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Study one demonstrated that midwives who care for AS&R women work within diverse roles and service structures across England. Study two identified that midwives lack the resources and support structures required to effectively recognise and support symptoms of perinatal depression in AS&R women. These factors were sometimes invisible to AS&R women, but still negatively affected their ability to effectively discuss perinatal depression with a midwife and access help for any symptoms. The lack of appropriate resources was harmful to both AS&R women and midwives. Conclusion: AS&R women and midwives who care for them navigate an inequitable maternity system in England. Midwives do not have the appropriate resources to provide a level of care which is equitable to women in the general maternity population. This leaves AS&R women’s perinatal mental health needs unrecognised and unmet, acting as a barrier to receiving effective support.
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http://hdl.handle.net/10454/19913
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Thesis
Qualification name
PhD
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