How Urbanization Negatively Affects Pregnant African Women
Lately I have been very intrigued by how urbanization and the vast development we all are witnessing affect our mental health. I know that urbanization has some positive impacts but some of the impacts of this development come with negative effects like unemployment, immigration, change of family dynamic, crime, increased stress, poor social network etc.
However, my focus on this article is on how urbanization have affected the family dynamic and in turn led to the increase of Post-Partum Depression (PPD) in societies where western cultures were not practiced.
Research have shown that some of the psycho-social risk factors that give rise to postpartum depression is the lack of social support – with the highest risk factor being the lack of paternal involvement. This is a clear sign that there’s a need for men to be entitled to paternity leave as well, but with urbanization and the increase of unemployment due to lack of resources and jobs to meet the needs of the populace; the men are often forced to keep working in order to generate funds to sustain the family.
In Africa and some Asian cultures, the family was once seen as a community; motherhood was not viewed as a private affair, but due to urbanization, we see the rise of nuclear family structures which means that new mothers are often times denied the opportunity to benefit from the large social network.
This is why the lack of paternal involvement as one of the highest risk factor is very intriguing to me; I believe that this is due to the fact that men have also been forced to take up roles that kinship usually embraced. This gap in the support becomes evident in one way.
If we take China as an example, after birth the woman is made to rest for four weeks whilst household chores and childcare is carried out by the women’s mother/ relatives.
The same thing is evident in many parts in Nigeria. In Igboland, we have the Omugwo ritual – where the mother of the woman or a relative is there to care for the woman and child. In the Northern lands, the woman goes back to her parents’ home after delivery to be cared for by her mother for a few months before going back to be with her husband. In the Yoruba land, the postpartum ritual Olojojo Omo , demands that both the mother and the mother in law are present to care for the mother and child. The mother of the woman leaves after 40 days, whilst the mother in law remains till after naming ceremony or even up to 3 months depending on their lifestyle.
This postpartum ritual also found in other countries that did not practice western cultures was not limited to just the mother and mother in laws as other women who made up the extended family were present to help care for the nursing mother and child.
The ritual helps cushion the shock and effect of the transition for young parents which reduces the anxiety that comes with parenthood- as research shows that first time mothers are often at a higher risk of PPD- I guess our ancestors were not as clueless as many have painted them to be.
However, with urbanization we see a decline of these practices and an increase in the use of orthodox medicine. It is no secret that we continue to witness a rise in the use of anti-depressants- as doctors also prescribe these drugs for children and teenagers.
Now! I am not calling for a ban of these drugs, I am aware that they work but to what extent? Do we think about the adverse effects that come with pumping our bodies with drugs? If there is research that shows that social support could help reduce the risk factors that leads to PPD, why are we not also focused on strategies that aim to improve social support for nursing mothers?
Let me go into details with the Omugwo ritual.
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