By Georgia Hawthorne
On Friday the 8th of March 2024, Migrant Action celebrated International Women’s Day in collaboration with Eritrean Community Leeds & Surrounding Areas. The event was a success, bringing together members of the Eritrean community for an evening filled with joy, food, dancing, and music. The focus of the event was to bring together and celebrate Eritrean women in Leeds, making our event the first of its kind within the community.
As well as celebrating the role and contribution of women in the community, our event raised awareness of, and in turn aimed to destigmatise, postnatal depression (PND). PND is a type of depression that many parents experience after pregnancy or birth and is particularly prevalent amongst migrant communities.
We handed out these leaflets (linked below) with more information on what PND is, how to support someone you know, and where you can get further help.
Experiences unique to migrants – like traumatic migration journeys, feelings of legal precarity, and being new to a host country – have been linked to the increased likelihood of experiencing PND [1] [2] [3]. Isolation and a lack of a social support network is also a major risk factor for PND, a problem prominent amongst migrant populations who may be distanced from wider family networks and who increasingly experience exclusion from mainstream society due to the ‘hostile environment’. This is why community events, like our event on International Women’s Day, and opportunities for mothers to connect and relate to one another are so important in combatting maternal mental ill health.
The stigma attached to PND, whereby women believe they will be seen as a bad mother if they speak honestly about their negative emotions, exacerbates feelings of isolation which often then leads to further feelings of depression and anxiety. This is why we need to talk openly about PND, to demystify what it is and be better equipped to support any parent who is suffering.
The UK government’s stated aim to construct a ‘hostile environment’ for migrants, though primarily focused on those without status, has had far-reaching implications for all migrants on various routes to settlement [4]. The increasing inaccessibility of NHS services for migrant populations, paired with ‘no recourse to public funds’ visa conditions and the rising costs of routes to settlement, have collectively contributed to the continued prevalence of PND amongst migrant mothers. The isolating impact of ‘hostile environment’ policies stands in the way of migrant mothers’ pursuit of reproductive justice, defined by Ross and Solinger as the right to not have a child; the right to have a child; and the right to parent as you wish [5]. It becomes evident when adopting this holistic reproductive justice framework that maternal inequalities between British mothers and migrant mothers, including the increased prevalence of PND amongst the latter, is an injustice which needs to be addressed.
The following quote from Mery, a member of Leeds’ Eritrean community and a key organiser of this event, demonstrates the importance of community building in addressing the PND risk factors unique to migrant populations.
“The event went perfectly and it really was a great way to bring everyone together with great food and a great atmosphere! Issues like PND are usually not spoken about in a traditional Eritrean society and I was really happy that this event allowed us to do so in an effective way thanks to Georgia, Fidelis and the Migrant Action team. This event allowed us to bring all Eritrean women together and now every Friday, an afternoon coffee takes place where we enjoy each other’s company!”
Our work at Migrant Action
Migrant Action are committed to supporting and empowering migrants, including migrant mothers within our community navigate healthcare challenges and provision. Through such lived experience-led community education events, Migrant Action aims to build capacity and community resilience to address barriers including but not limited to systemic barriers and help reduce health inequalities particularly amongst migrants. In essence, enhancing health justice.
If you’re struggling with PND, some of the following website may be of use to you:
References
[1] Firth, A.D. and Haith-Cooper, M. 2018. Vulnerable migrant women and postnatal depression: A case of invisibility in maternity services? British Journal of Midwifery. 26(2), pp.78–84.
[2] Collins, C.H., Zimmerman, C. and Howard, L.M. 2011. Refugee, asylum seeker, immigrant women and postnatal depression: rates and risk factors. Archives of Women’s Mental Health. 14(1), pp.3–11.
[3] Hayes, I., Enohumah, K. and McCaul, C. 2011. Care of the migrant obstetric population. International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia. 20(4), pp.321–329.
[4] Kirkrup 2012. Theresa May interview: ‘We are going to give illegal migrants a really hostile reception’. The Telegraph. [Online]. [Accessed 12 January 2024]. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9291483/Theresa-May-interview-Were-going-to-give-illegal-migrants-a-really-hostile-reception.html.
[5] Ross, L. and Solinger, R. 2017. Reproductive Justice: An Introduction [Online]. Berkeley, UNITED STATES: University of California Press. [Accessed 30 December 2023]. Available from: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/leeds/detail.action?docID=4711991.
