Psychosocial disadvantage and residential remoteness is associated with Aboriginal women's mental health prior to childbirth.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Optimal mental health in the pre-conception, pregnancy and postpartum periods is important for both maternal and infant wellbeing. Few studies, however, have focused on Indigenous women and the specific risk and protective factors that may prompt vulnerability to perinatal mental disorders in this culturally diverse population.

Objectives

To assess mental health contacts in the period before childbirth among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the association with socioeconomic factors and whether it differs by geographic remoteness.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of 19,165 Aboriginal mothers and includes all Aboriginal mothers and their children born in Western Australia from January 1990 to March 2015. It draws on popul

SUBMITTER: Bhat SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7473279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature