Perspectives on mental illness stigma among African immigrant pregnant and post-partum women in an urban setting: a brief report

Purpose: This study assessed the perspectives of pregnant and post-partum African immigrant women on mental illness. Methods: We conducted a focus group session (N=14) among pregnant and postpartum African immigrant women in June 2020. We used an inductive driven thematic analysis to identify themes related to mental health stigma. Results: Five core themes emerged: conceptualization of mental health, community stigmatizing attitudes, biopsychosocial stressors, management of mental health and methods to reduce stigma. Conclusion: Understanding the perspectives of pregnant African immigrant women at the intersection of their race, ethnicity, gender and migration is necessary to improve engagement with mental health services.

Introducing a Black African Immigrant Womanist Approach to Examine the Experiences of African Immigrant Women in International Migration

According to the International Organization of Migration, women constituted 47.9% of the world's 272 million international migrants in 2019. These three regions North America (51.8%), Europe (51.8%) and Oceania (50.4%) accommodated a large female migrant population compared to men (UN DESA, 2019). Black African immigrant women contribute significantly to this surge of female migration. Given the increasing population of women in international migration process, the main focus of this chapter is to argue that although women from different nations have become visible in the migration literature, there are no theories or concepts to explore their experiences in the migration process. To encourage the development of gendered international migration theories, this chapter introduces a Black African immigrant womanist approach to guide future research studies to explore the unique experiences of African immigrant women at all stages of the migration process. Four case studies were used to highlight the authenticity of this new concept.