Abstract
Infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world in low and middle-income countries where postpartum depression impacts at least one in five women. Currently, there is a dearth of data on maternal mood and infant health outcomes in small-scale non-industrial populations from such countries, particularly during the postnatal period. Here, we present the first investigation of postpartum maternal mood among a foraging population, the Hadza of Tanzania. We administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to twenty-three women, all with infants under the age of 12 months. Semi-structured interviews on happiness and unhappiness during the post-partum period served as a validity cross-check for the EPDS. The combined results of the EPDS surveys and the interview responses suggest that a high proportion of Hadza women experience significant mood disturbances following birth and that postpartum unhappiness is associated with self-reports of pain, anxiety, and disturbed sleep patterns. These findings suggest that many of the mothers in our sample are experiencing post-partum unhappiness at levels similar to or higher than those reported for low to middle income countries in general, including Tanzania. These data are critical for improving our understanding of the etiologies of postpartum mood disturbances cross-culturally.
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Notes
One participant declined to participate, and another declined to finish the study, citing research fatigue.
The number of living children, rather than total number of births, are referenced after each participant’s quote.
The Hadza are currently experiencing heightened missionization, a trend with a long history dating to (at least) the 1960 s (see Marlowe 2010).
At the time of data collection there were no transport vehicles available to any members of the study community. As of 2019, a long-term researcher has made a vehicle available as a “bush ambulance”—which can be called if a member of a given residential group has access to a cell phone. It remains to be seen how many women will call upon these services during emergency situations. In the future, we aim to explore whether or not access to a vehicle impacts the percentage of women residing in bush camps who deliver in hospitals.
The fourth question on the EPDS is as follows: “I have been worried or anxious for no good reason”.
The first three questions on the EPDS are as follows:
question one: “I have been able to laugh and see the funny side of things”; question Two: “I have looked forward to enjoyment to things”; question three: “I have blamed myself unnecessarily when things went wrong.”.
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Herlosky, K.N., Benyshek, D.C., Mabulla, I.A. et al. Postpartum Maternal Mood Among Hadza Foragers of Tanzania: A Mixed Methods Approach. Cult Med Psychiatry 44, 305–332 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09655-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09655-4