Design: Using snowball and network sampling, we interviewed postpartum women from three cultural groups and applied content analysis techniques to the resultant verbatim text.

Population, Sample, Setting, Year: The sample comprised 90 participants, 30 each from African-American, Anglo-American, and Cuban-American postpartum mothers drawn from the Miami-Dade County area during the years 1998-2003.

Concepts: The major variables were the culturally derived practices used by new mothers and their families which serve to prevent the development of postpartum depression.

Methods: We interviewed 90 postpartum women who had a baby between three months and one year prior to the interview. We derived our topics from the Stern & Kruckman postpartum depression prevention criteria. These criteria are the identified practices that cultures with low incidences of postpartum depression have in place: a) protective measures reflecting the vulnerability of the new mother; b) a defined postpartum period; c) social seclusion; d) mandated rest; e) assistance with tasks; and e) social recognition of the new status of the mother. Interviews were conducted by telephone using audio-taping equipment. We transcribed the interviews verbatim and content analyzed the text using latent and manifest analyses. The results were tabulated using descriptive statistics.

Findings: Mothers not experiencing postpartum depression had been the recipients of one or more of the preventive cultural practices. In place practices varied among cultural groups.

Conclusion: It is possible to identify culturally relevant postpartum depression prevention practices using the Stern & Kruckman model.

Implications: We now know what practices are beneficial for these three groups and can start to educate mothers and their families on the value of these practices.

Back to Depression and Suicide
Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004