ABSTRACT
Like postnatal mental illness itself, contemplating another pregnancy following mental illness in the postnatal period is an issue that affects women from all ethnic backgrounds. In this chapter, using examples from the United Kingdom (UK) and the Caribbean in particular, we argue that socio-cultural factors impose additional levels of complexity and challenge into this decision-making process for women from Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. To support this assertion, we focus on postnatal depression (also known as ‘postpartum depression’), one of three main psychological conditions that affect women following childbirth. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to examine the factors that might influence decision making for all ethnic groups. Accordingly, to illustrate our argument, we explore these issues in relation to women of South Asian and Caribbean origin in the UK and their countries of origin. We adopt this approach as the available evidence suggests that global figures mask significant inter-ethnic and trans-cultural differences in prevalence, presentation and outcome of postnatal mental illness. This is significant as, due to globalisation, Western societies such as those in Europe and North America are increasingly multi-racial/multi-ethnic. Understanding the health needs of all citizens is a fundamental aspect of developing appropriate services and reducing ethnicity-based inequalities in access, experience and outcome.
