Browsing by Author "Iyi, Eghosasere Lydia"

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    Narratives of maternal mental health challenges and opportunities among African immigrant women in Cape Town
    (University of the Western Cape, 2025) Iyi, Eghosasere Lydia
    Maternal mental health challenges are a critical aspect of women’s reproductive health that occurs in the perinatal period—during pregnancy and after giving birth. The condition is characterised by the onset of mental illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and, in some cases, substance abuse disorder. Maternal mental health challenges affect the quality of care that affected mothers provide for their children; it impacts their ability to function properly, cope with the everyday demands of life, and also affects the quality of life of the mothers themselves. Despite the seriousness and prevalence of maternal mental health conditions among women of reproductive age, as established by many studies before this one, the situation receives little attention in many healthcare settings in Africa. For example, in South Africa, one in three women experiences mild to severe mental health conditions during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. Such women often struggle to access adequate care, support, or the treatment they need to deal with issues that arise in the perinatal period. Poor maternal mental health among women in the perinatal period is linked to risk factors such as poverty, violence, abuse, migration, and substance abuse, among others. To provide more insight into the maternal mental health challenges in the African context, this study explores the maternal mental health experiences of African immigrant women in Cape Town (South Africa). The study rests on the assumption drawn from previous studies that ideological, structural, and socioeconomic positions of African immigrant women shape the manifestation of these conditions. Therefore, this study aims to explore the maternal mental health experiences of African immigrant women in Cape Town in terms of challenges and opportunities, by adopting a qualitative research methodology. The researcher conducted a semi-structured one-on-one in-depth interview with fifteen African immigrant women in Cape Town.