Sociocultural practices in Ethiopia: association with onset and persistence of postnatal common mental disorders

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sociocultural practices in Ethiopia

T2 - association with onset and persistence of postnatal common mental disorders

AU - Hanlon, Charlotte

AU - Medhin, Girmay

AU - Alem, Atalay

AU - Araya, Mesfin

AU - Abdulahi, Abdulreshid

AU - Tomlinson, Mark

AU - Hughes, Marcus

AU - Patel, Vikram

AU - Dewey, Michael

AU - Prince, Martin

PY - 2010/12

Y1 - 2010/12

N2 - Background:Traditional perinatal practices may protect against postnatal common mental disorders (CMD) in non-Western societies.Aims:To evaluate the association between perinatal practices and postnatal CMD in rural Ethiopia.Method:A population-based sample of 1065 women was followed up from pregnancy until 2 months postpartum. Qualitative investigation informed the development of scales measuring attitudes towards and adherence to perinatal practices. Postnatal CMD was measured using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire.Results:Endorsement of sociocultural perinatal practices was associated with lower odds of antenatal CMD persisting into the postnatal period (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.66, 95% CI 0.45–0.95). Women who endorsed protective and celebratory perinatal practices but were unable to complete them had increased odds of incident (adjusted OR = 7.26, 95% CI 1.38–38.04) and persistent postnatal CMD (adjusted OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.11–4.23) respectively.Conclusions:There is evidence for an independent role of sociocultural practices in maintaining perinatal mental health in this Ethiopian community.

AB - Background:Traditional perinatal practices may protect against postnatal common mental disorders (CMD) in non-Western societies.Aims:To evaluate the association between perinatal practices and postnatal CMD in rural Ethiopia.Method:A population-based sample of 1065 women was followed up from pregnancy until 2 months postpartum. Qualitative investigation informed the development of scales measuring attitudes towards and adherence to perinatal practices. Postnatal CMD was measured using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire.Results:Endorsement of sociocultural perinatal practices was associated with lower odds of antenatal CMD persisting into the postnatal period (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.66, 95% CI 0.45–0.95). Women who endorsed protective and celebratory perinatal practices but were unable to complete them had increased odds of incident (adjusted OR = 7.26, 95% CI 1.38–38.04) and persistent postnatal CMD (adjusted OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.11–4.23) respectively.Conclusions:There is evidence for an independent role of sociocultural practices in maintaining perinatal mental health in this Ethiopian community.

U2 - 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.076497

DO - 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.076497

M3 - Article

SN - 1472-1465

VL - 197

SP - 468

EP - 475

JO - British Journal of Psychiatry

JF - British Journal of Psychiatry

IS - 6

ER -