By: Cindy Herrick, MA, CPSS, MHFA

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) month and it is time to shine a light on AAPI moms and maternal mental health. Research has shown that Asian women are nearly 9 times more likely to report thoughts about suicide compared to white women in the immediate postpartum period, and yet, there remains a huge gap in culturally competent maternal mental health resources for Asian moms.

While research specific to the AAPI maternal mental health experience is scarce, the research we currently have highlights why more work needs to be done to support and understand the AAPI MMH experience. Dr. Deepika Goyal is a leading researcher in this space, and her research has found:

Asian moms will not seek treatment until it is a last resort and are generally very resistant towards therapy and medication due to cultural stigmas. Some perceived needing help as a personal failure.
More than 50% of Asian moms showed a high risk for postpartum depression (PPD) during self-screening, yet clinical diagnosis rates for PPD were significantly lower. This suggests that there are barriers to Asian moms being clinically diagnosed with PPD--which may include stigma, language & cultural issues, and insurance navigation/access issues.
While many Chinese moms experienced depressive symptoms in one study, many of these women did not believe that depression was applicable to Chinese women. Some did not believe that postpartum depression exists in their culture because people “did not talk about it”

Asians are also the racial group LEAST likely to seek help for mental health issues. When compared to Whites, Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek mental health services. A study on Asian American women and depression also found that:

Conflicting cultural values are impacting Asian-American women's sense of control over their life decisions
Feeling responsible, yet unable to meet biased and unrealistic standards set by families and society, contributes to low self-esteem among Asian-American women
Asian-American women witness depression in their families but have learned from their Asian cultures to maintain silence on the subject
Asian-American women fear stigma for themselves, but more so for their families

It is important to note that rather than reaching out for professional and clinical support, Asian-Americans indicated that they are more comfortable reaching out to friends, peers, and their immediate social circle for mental health issues and support.

A Path Forward

One way to close the gap and address barriers to care for the AAPI population is through the use of peer support. 2020 Mom has been championing the use of peer specialists in the maternal mental health space and recently finished up a pilot on peer support for black moms. Promising data from this pilot can hopefully be generalized to future programs to close gaps in maternal mental health in the AAPI community.

2020 mom recognizes that more work needs to be done to close the gap in research and create resources for the AAPI community. 2020 mom is committed to closing this gap by continuing to focus on the three areas of focus identified in our strategic plan and we continue to be dedicated to progressing culturally competent and equity-focused care in maternal mental health.