Perinatal mental disorder - A cultural approach

This review endeavours to bring together aspects of perinatal and transcultural psychiatry-both subjects have been central to the author's research and clinical work for two decades. It is argued that if a comprehensive understanding of perinatal mental disorder is to be obtained then a cultural approach is necessary. The observations of social anthropologists that postnatal rituals and taboos are less common in Western than in non-industrialized societies, and that lack of social support may predispose to postnatal depression (PND) ave described. There is a need for transcultural studies to investigate further these plausible hypotheses using qualitative as well as quantitative research methods.