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Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD), defined as at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest in daily activities accompanied by symptoms such as altered eating habits, suicidal or infanticidal thoughts, feelings of inadequacy, and low energy, is a significant public health problem in the United States. Poor infant and maternal health increase risk for PPD. In addition, adolescent mothers are at higher risk of prenatal depression, birth complications, and PPD. Current research fails to address adolescent American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) mothers experiencing PPD. This review seeks to integrate what has been discovered about PPD within Native communities and among adolescent mothers to theorize about the ways in which these findings converge to inform unique PPD-associated consequences and interventions for adolescent Native mothers. We found that rates of PPD are significantly higher for American Indians than for the United States population in general. Proposed mechanisms for the elevated rates of PPD in adolescent mothers include: unmet idealistic expectations of motherhood; negative evaluations of bodily changes resulting from pregnancy; feelings of inadequacy regarding fulfilling maternal roles; and conflict between wanting independence and needing support (Hymas & Girard, 2019). Cognitive-behavioral and psychoeducational approaches delivered via trained American Indian paraprofessionals have shown promise in reducing depression in young Native mothers. Much more research is needed to understand and address PPD in this highly vulnerable population. Future research should examine culturally consonant prevention and intervention, include urban as well as reservation-based AI/ANs, and identify similarities and differences across heterogeneous communities.

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