Authors : Nusrat Jahan Suchi; Md. Abu Obaida Rafi

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 9 - September

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/mtzaffjz

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26sep739

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Limited awareness, cultural attitudes and lack of access to care influence whether marginalized women are identified and supported after delivery, in the context of postpartum depression (PPD) which is not well recognized. This study focuses on the understanding, interpretation and reactions of the marginalized mothers towards postpartum emotional and psychological distress in relation to PPD in the slum community of low-income group in Rajshahi District. The design of the research was exploratory qualitative. This study analyzed 75 mothers who gave birth within the last five years using 70 semi-structured interviews and 5 in-depth case studies. The data was collected in Bengali from October to November 2025 and thematically analyzed with coded frequencies, which were used descriptively to show the distribution of frequented accounts across the sample not as indicators of the prevalence of these accounts in the population. The knowledge domain in most cases PPD was not seen as a separate condition and in many cases, mothers lacked a shared language for their experience because they were illiterate and could not access the community health outreach. Families, in their turn, tended to blame distress on supernatural or spiritual factors, they were less likely to openly discuss their emotions, and a stronger preference for sons influenced family reactions to the suffering of mothers in the attitude’s realm. Only 17 out of 75 mothers received any postnatal checkup in the domain of the practice, many families depended on amulets and spiritual remedies rather than medical intervention and mothers took up heavy workloads in the house and in work to support their families shortly after giving birth. The three gaps seem to reinforce each other. The results indicate that a community-based awareness and structural and economic support for marginalized mothers might be more effective with clinical screening.

Keywords : Postpartum Depression; Postpartum Distress; Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices; Care-Seeking; Marginalized Women; Bangladesh; Qualitative Research.

References :

1. I. Brockington, E. Macdonald, and G. Wainscott, “Anxiety, obsessions and morbid preoccupations in pregnancy and the puerperium,” Archives of Women’s Mental Health, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 253–263, 2006.
2. P. Almond, “Postnatal depression: A global public health perspective,” Perspectives in Public Health, vol. 129, no. 5, pp. 221–227, 2009.
3. J. L. Pawluski, J. S. Lonstein, and A. S. Fleming, “The neurobiology of postpartum anxiety and depression,” Trends in Neurosciences, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 106–120, 2017.
4. J. Fisher, M. Cabral de Mello, V. Patel, A. Rahman, T. Tran, S. Holton, and W. Holmes, “Prevalence and determinants of common perinatal mental disorders in women in low- and lower-middle-income countries: A systematic review,” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 90, pp. 139–149G, 2012.
5. A. Williams, M. Sarker, and S. T. Ferdous, “Cultural attitudes toward postpartum depression in Dhaka, Bangladesh,” Medical Anthropology, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 194–205, 2018.
6. M. J. Islam and R. K. Biswas, “Mental health and its associated factors in adult population of Bangladesh: Evidence from a nationwide survey,” National Institute of Mental Health, WHO-AIMS Report, 2015.
7. N. I. Gavin et al., “Perinatal depression: A systematic review of prevalence and incidence,” Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 106, no. 5, pp. 1071–1083, 2005.
8. R. Ghubash and M. T. Abou-Saleh, “Postpartum illness in Arab culture: Prevalence and psychosocial correlates,” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 171, no. 1, pp. 65–68, 1997.
9. H. E. Nasreen, M. Edhborg, M. Petzold, Y. Forsell, and Z. N. Kabir, “Incidence and risk factors of postpartum depressive symptoms in women: A population-based prospective cohort study in a rural district in Bangladesh,” Journal of Depression and Anxiety, vol. 4, no. 1, Art. no. 1000180, 2015.
10. J. L. Cox, “Perinatal mood disorders in a changing culture: A transcultural European and African perspective,” International Review of Psychiatry, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 9–16, 1996.
11. H. E. Nasreen, Z. N. Kabir, Y. Forsell, and M. Edhborg, “Prevalence and associated factors of depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy: A population based study in rural Bangladesh,” BMC Women’s Health, vol. 11, no. 1, Art. no. 22, 2011.
12. R. Kumar, “Postnatal mental illness: A transcultural perspective,” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 250–264, 1994.
13. K. Yoshida et al., “Postnatal depression in Japanese women who have given birth in England,” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 69–77, 1997.
14. M. Eberhard-Gran, S. Garthus-Niegel, K. Garthus-Niegel, and A. Eskild, “Postnatal care: A cross-cultural and historical perspective,” Archives of Women’s Mental Health, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 459–466, 2010.
15. E. A. Goodburn, R. Gazi, and M. Chowdhury, “Beliefs and practices regarding delivery and postpartum maternal morbidity in rural Bangladesh,” Studies in Family Planning, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 22–32, 1995.
16. E. Edwards and S. Timmons, “A qualitative study of stigma among women suffering postnatal illness,” Journal of Mental Health, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 471–481, 2005.
17. S. Rosenfield, “Labeling mental illness: The effects of received services and perceived stigma on life satisfaction,” American Sociological Review, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 660–672, 1997.
18. M. J. Islam, L. Broidy, K. Baird, and P. Mazerolle, “Intimate partner violence around the time of pregnancy and postpartum depression: The experience of women of Bangladesh,” PLoS ONE, vol. 12, no. 5, Art. no. e0176211, 2017.
19. V. Patel, A. Rahman, K. S. Jacob, and M. Hughes, “Effect of maternal mental health on infant growth in low-income countries: New evidence from South Asia,” BMJ, vol. 328, no. 7443, pp. 820–823, 2004.
20. V. Valdes, A. E. Berens, and C. A. Nelson III, “Socioeconomic and psychological correlates of postpartum depression at 6 months in Dhaka, Bangladesh,” International Journal of Psychology, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 4–12, 2020.
21. Z. N. Kabir, H. E. Nasreen, and M. Edhborg, “Intimate partner violence and its association with maternal depressive symptoms 6–8 months after childbirth in rural Bangladesh,” Global Health Action, vol. 7, no. 1, Art. no. 24725, 2014.
22. F. Tasnim et al., “Exposure to domestic violence and the risk of developing depression within 6 months postpartum in Bangladesh,” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 56, pp. 1421–1432, 2021.
23. S. Patel, A. Wittkowski, J. R. Fox, and A. Wieck, “An exploration of illness beliefs in mothers with postnatal depression,” Midwifery, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 682–689, 2013.
24. J. Bilszta, J. Ericksen, A. Buist, and J. Milgrom, “Women’s experience of postnatal depression: Beliefs and attitudes as barriers to care,” Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 44–54, 2010.
25. R. Azad, R. Fahmi, S. Shrestha, H. Joshi, M. Hasan, A. N. S. Khan, M. A. K. Chowdhury, S. El Arifeen, and S. M. Billah, “Prevalence and risk factors of postpartum depression within one year after birth in urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh,” PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 5, Art. no. e0215735, 2019.
26. G. K. Dutta, B. K. Sarker, H. U. Ahmed, D. S. Bhattacharyya, M. M. Rahman, R. Majumder, and T. K. Biswas, “Mental healthcare-seeking behavior during the perinatal period among women in rural Bangladesh,” BMC Health Services Research, vol. 22, Art. no. 322, 2022.
27. S. S. Wahid, M. Sarker, A. S. M. E. Arafat, A. R. Apu, and B. A. Kohrt, “Tension and other idioms of distress among slum-dwelling young men: A qualitative study of depression in urban Bangladesh,” Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 531–563, 2022.
28. H. Walter, M. E. Craig, M. Ali, S. Faruque, and S. Saha, “Seeking support: Insights into women’s mental health help-seeking behavior in Bangladesh,” Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, vol. 6, Art. no. 1679141, 2025.