When Baby Blues Turns Deadly - Maternal Mental Health: Breaking the Silence & Sharing Prevention

Optimistic Voices

Send us a text

Dr. Abdullahi Jawobah takes us deep into the critically overlooked world of maternal mental health, where his groundbreaking research reveals a staggering statistic: approximately 50% of pregnant and lactating mothers in Sierra Leone experience psychological distress. This silent epidemic has far-reaching consequences not only for mothers but for their unborn children, as Dr. Jawobah explains how stress hormones cross the placenta to affect gene expression in developing fetuses. Addressing this is a pathway to reducing stillbirths, preeclampsia, infant malnutrition, and physical health outcomes.
The conversation illuminates how mothers in Sierra Leone express their psychological suffering through culturally specific language—describing their distress as "my heart is spoiled" or "my heart is crying"—rather than using Western terms like depression or anxiety. Dr. Jawobah shares the heartbreaking cultural context where women who undergo cesarean sections may be viewed as "not fit to be women" and mothers whose babies develop malnutrition might be accused of infidelity, creating significant barriers to seeking mental health support.
What makes this episode particularly powerful is Dr. Jawobah's innovative solution: adapting Zimbabwe's "Friendship Bench" intervention for Sierra Leone. By training elderly women from existing mother-to-mother su

________

Travel on International Mission, meet local leadership and work alongside them. Exchange knowledge, learn from one another and be open to personal transformation. Step into a 25 year long story of change for children in some of the poorest regions on Earth.

https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/mission-trips.html

******

_____

A bible study for groups and individuals, One Twenty-Seven: The Widow and the Orphan by Dr Andrea Siegel explores the themes of the first chapter of James, and in particular, 1:27. In James, we learn of our duty to the vulnerable in the historical context of the author. Order here or digital download

___________

Family Empowerment Advocates support the work of family empowerment experts at the Child Reintegration Centre, Sierra Leone. Your small monthly donation, prayers, attention & caring is essential. You advocate for their work to help families bring themselves out of poverty, changing the course of children's lives and lifting up communities. join

____

Organize a Rooted in Reality mission experience for your service club, church group, worship team, young adult or adult study. No travel required. Step into the shoes of people in extreme poverty in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Helping Children Worldwide takes you into a world where families are facing impossible choices every day.

Contact [email protected] to discuss how.

Shout out to our newest sponsor: The Resilience Institute

Support the show

Helpingchildrenworldwide.org

Kapitel

1. Introduction to Maternal Mental Health (00:00:00)

2. Understanding Perinatal Mental Health (00:07:59)

3. Cultural Factors and Mental Health Expression (00:11:17)

4. The Friendship Bench Intervention (00:18:45)

5. Community-Based Support Systems (00:28:27)

6. Screening Tools and Health System Integration (00:35:47)

7. Research Challenges and Future Directions (00:45:09)

8. Impact on Maternal and Child Health (00:51:12)