Pregnancy and postpartum can be emotionally overwhelming, and for first- and second-generation immigrants, these challenges are often intensified by cultural barriers, discrimination, and limited access to mental health resources. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 23 per cent of Canadians were born outside of the country, making it essential to address the unique struggles immigrant parents face during this critical period. 

In a recently-published study in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Monica Vaillancourt, a PhD graduate in experimental psychology at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), researched the key factors affecting mental health among first- and second-generation immigrant parents in Quebec. 

Vaillancourt employed qualitative methods, noting that traditional quantitative approaches may fail to capture the unique experiences of minority populations. She conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 women and 10 men, highlighting differences in perinatal experiences based on gender, cultural expectations, and healthcare access. 

“Given that I was looking at minority populations, it’s important to have a qualitative component [….] Scales have been developed in quantitative [research], and they’ve been developed in the general population—[They] won’t necessarily translate to other cultures,” Vaillancourt explained in an interview with The Tribune. 

Migration can be a major stressor, influencing parents’ mental health during pregnancy and postpartum. Vaillancourt found that first-generation immigrant parents may be at a higher risk for perinatal distress due to factors such as discrimination, acculturation difficulties, and systemic social healthcare barriers. 

In contrast, second-generation immigrants reported feelings of relief due to greater familiarity with Canadian culture, however still similarly faced barriers due to discrimination. Participants felt pressured to follow heritage cultural traditions concerning parenting practices, which have contributed to distress in some. 

Another key finding was the disparity in perinatal resources available to fathers. Many fathers reported feeling sidelined in prenatal and postnatal care, contributing to stress and uncertainty in their new roles.

“There aren’t a lot of resources for men […] They would go to these prenatal classes, [and] there’d be maybe one slide about dads. There wasn’t so much on helping dads through this transition.”

The study also emphasized the importance of perinatal interventions from healthcare providers and social workers in shaping long-term family well-being. Effective interventions can help mitigate stressors by providing culturally sensitive support, expanding paternal mental health resources, and addressing systemic barriers in healthcare access. When parents receive adequate mental health support during this critical period, it fosters better emotional bonding, strengthens family relationships, and enhances child development outcomes. 

Early interventions can also reduce the long-term societal costs associated with untreated perinatal distress, including healthcare burdens and economic productivity losses. By prioritizing these interventions, healthcare systems can build more resilient families, ultimately leading to healthier communities.

“You get your biggest bang for your buck if you do interventions during [the perinatal] period,” Vaillancourt said. “If you have an influence on the parents, that influences the baby.”

Effective interventions can help mitigate stress by providing culturally sensitive support, expanding paternal mental health resources, and addressing systemic barriers in healthcare access.

Despite its strengths, the research faced limitations, particularly linguistic barriers. 

“I wasn’t able to get a lot of asylum seekers or refugees [….] It’s difficult because I could only have my questionnaires and my questions in English or French,” Vaillancourt noted, advocating for more inclusive research to better capture vulnerable populations.

This constraint may have excluded some of the most vulnerable population from the study, emphasizing the need for more inclusive research approaches in the future. 

Overcoming perinatal obstacles demands policy reform, improved healthcare access for all, and increased access to mental health services for both parents. With further research and systemic change, immigrant families in Canada can receive the resources they need for a healthier transition into parenthood.