POSTNATAL DEPRESSION AND SOCIAL SUPPORTS IN VIETNAMESE, ARABIC AND ANGLO-CELTIC MOTHERS

The significance of a western woman's social supports to postnatal dep ression is well documented. We examine which deficits in components of their social support network are associated with postnatal depression in women from a non-English-speaking background. The social support n etwork and postnatal mood of 105 Anglo-Celtic, 113 Vietnamese and 98 A rabic women were assessed at 6 weeks postpartum The role of social sup ports in determining scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scal e (EPDS) was analysed using multiple regressions. For Anglo-Celtic wom en, lour postnatal mood was associated with perceived need for more em otional support from partners and mothers. For Vietnamese women, low p ostnatal mood was associated with poor quality of relationship with th e partner and a perceived need for more practical help from him. For A rabic women, low postnatal mood was associated with perceived need for more emotional support from partners. We conclude that cultural facto rs mediate the relation between social supports and postnatal depressi on.