Emotional Well-Being After Pregnancy: The Case of Latino Women

Childbirth is a strenuous process that requires women to take time off from work, physically heal and embrace parenthood. For immigrant Latina women, life is already difficult due to the many cultural and gender-related issues that they face. For example, if women miss out on working and their career, then key immigration based benefits are lost. For example, while Smith and Mannon (2010) argued that “women gain status and power in the household once they migrate and enter the labour force,” women who have children do not have that benefit (p. 988). That is, they do not secure personal and financial autonomy, a benefit that is derived from entering the workforce along with men. Moreover, women who do not work because of family care also face the issue of missing out on the community-related benefits of taking “active public roles” (Smith & Mannon, 2010, p. 988). Losing such opportunities can be emotionally costly for women, especially when they have more than one child or they have experienced a teenage pregnancy.

When Latino women have children, they are subject to even more emotional hardship. For example, in addition to dealing with the “stressors associated with migration and acculturation to the United States,” immigrant women that have children also face intense social isolation because they must raise their child while the husband works (Ornelas, Perreira, Beeber, & Maxwell, 2009, p. 1557). The issue of cultural gender traditions is important because they can dictate what kind of life a woman will have post-pregnancy. Indeed, research by Ornelas et al. (2009) suggests that Latino women experience “depressive symptoms after becoming parents” (p. 1571). These feelings of social isolated and depression stem from the fact that there are already heavy burdens associated with immigration to begin with. Indeed, being an immigrant woman and having a child can yield many instances where women are not emotionally healthy: “feelings of sadness, depression, loneliness, shame, and anxiety” (Ornelas et al., 2009, p. 1571). Together, these symptoms account for millions of lonely and emotionally unstable women who are raising children and burdened with the commitment to domesticity. 

The purpose of this research is to further explore the way in which childbirth negatively impacts Latina women’s’ emotional well-being and what can be done to prevent it. Secondary research from various scholars will be utilized in order to show that childbirth adds an extra layer of oppression and burden for women that are already attempting to assimilate themselves into the United States. How pregnancy and childbirth impacts a woman’s ability to work and have financial autonomy will be treated as an important determinant of her own perception of autonomy and freedom. Primary evidence from various respondents will be analyzed to show that specific facets of pregnancy and childbirth as important indicators of a Latino woman’s overall emotional well-being. Finally, the role of husbands, family members and the community will be discussed to illustrate how a proper support network can help Latino women regain confidence, combat feelings of social isolation and feel good.

References

Ornelas, I., Perreira, K., Beeber, L., & Maxwell, L. (2009). Challenges and Strategies to Maintaining Emotional Health: Qualitative Perspectives of Mexican Immigrant Mothers. Journal of Family Issues, 30(11), 1556-1575.

Smith, R., & Mannon, S. (2010). Nibbling on the margins of patriarchy: Latina immigrants in northern Utah. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(6), 986-1005.