Vietnamese mothers' perceptions of and experiences with postpartum traditions, postpartum depression, and help-seeking

Background. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a leading cause of maternal morbidity affecting 20-65% of mothers worldwide. There is limited representation of Asian Americans including Vietnamese, in research which is concerning knowing that Asian Americans underutilize mental health services. Objective. To gain insight on Vietnamese mothers' perceptions of and experiences with postpartum traditions, PPD, and help-seeking. Methods. This mixed methods study comprised of semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys (demographic survey, health services questionnaire, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)). This convenience sample comprised of 15 Vietnamese mothers who had delivered a single live infant in the past year. An EPDS score of ≥10 suggested PPD. Interviews were conducted in English (53.3%) and Vietnamese (46.7%). Participants were asked to describe how PPD is viewed in their culture, their postpartum traditions and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors including health services utilization. Quantitative analyses included descriptive statistics. Content analysis was conducted for the interviews. Results. Overall, 33.3% had an EPDS score of ≥10, which indicates a high risk of developing PPD. Mothers reported that postpartum traditions played important roles in their well-being as well as maintaining strong cultural values. However, many reported feelings of isolation and desiring experiencing postpartum traditions more frequently. Some mothers reported that PPD is not understood in their culture. However, all reported that they would seek professional help if needed, but only if their sadness/depression was severe and/or as a last resort given the cultural barriers to help-seeking. Many mothers preferred to use other methods to treat sadness/depression such as seeking social support. Mothers also reported that there were cultural barriers to help-seeking such as stigma and shame. Conclusion. Future PPD interventions should be culturally appropriate and consider the importance of postpartum cultural traditions and the presence of cultural barriers to help-seeking as ways to prevent the adverse effects of untreated PPD.