{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T13:47:19Z","timestamp":1782222439798,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"Umea University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Perinatal depression affects up to 30% of women in Kenya, yet many contributing factors remain poorly understood. We explored mental health problems, social needs, and associated risk factors among women ante- and postnatally in Kajiado County, southern Kenya, from the perspectives of women and health-care workers (HCWs).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      We conducted a qualitative study based on dual-perspective focus group interviews with mothers (ante- and postnatal) and HCWs in five health-care facilities (two urban and three rural) across Kajiado County (5\u201311 March 2025). Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English when needed, and analysed using qualitative content analysis with an explorative and inductive approach. The text was divided into meaning units and manually coded in Atlas.ti (\n                      <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" xlink:href=\"https:\/\/atlasti.com\" ext-link-type=\"uri\">https:\/\/atlasti.com<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      ). Themes, subthemes and categories were articulated following a stepwise, iterative and reflexive process of abstraction and interpretation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Across five sites, 51 mothers and 39 HCWs participated. Three themes were developed relating to stress, distress and affecting mental wellbeing, (a) Women\u2019s autonomy and self-determination \u2013 mothers lacked control over resources or decision-making, while shouldering most household responsibilities, and HCWs highlighted the vulnerability of girls subjected to early marriage and female genital mutilation, often unprepared for motherhood, (b) Responsive maternal and mental health care \u2013 distance, costs, and low expectations limited access, while women feared traumatic births, miscarriage, and caesarean sections, and (c) Community knowledge and acceptance of mental health problems \u2013 mental health problems were often seen as irrationality or spiritual possession, delaying care. Stigma was particularly associated with caesarean sections, mental health problems, and HIV.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings describe how maternal mental health is closely intertwined with gender norms and prevailing perceptions of mental illness including stigma. Expanding maternal mental health services may be important but it is unlikely to be sufficient in isolation. Sustainable change may depend on the promotion of women\u2019s rights, increased mental health literacy at the community level, and the engagement of men. In addition, fear of traumatic birth and stigma associated with CS may need to be addressed not only at the individual level but also within the broader community context.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-026-28282-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T12:25:08Z","timestamp":1782217508000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploring potential factors influencing perinatal mental health in Kajiado County, Kenya: a qualitative study with mothers and healthcare workers"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Caren","family":"Kamau","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sebastian","family":"Gabrielsson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francis W.","family":"Makokha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Timothy","family":"Ntinina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jane","family":"Karimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lydia","family":"Munteiyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristian","family":"Ekman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Louise","family":"\u00d6hlund","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5023-3254","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ursula","family":"Werneke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"28282_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.21264","volume":"24","author":"P Fusar-Poli","year":"2025","unstructured":"Fusar-Poli P, Estrad\u00e9 A, Mathi K, Mabia C, Yanayirak N, Floris V, et al. 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A license to conduct the study was obtained from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI\/P\/25\/415186). Authorisation to collect the data was obtained from the department of health in Kajiado County. Ethical approval was also obtained from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (DNR 2024-00376-01). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.Written informed consent was then obtained from all participants. Consent forms were provided in English and HCWs gave consent in English. Mothers who did not speak English were informed verbally in their own languages based on the consent form \u2013 including Maa, Swahili, Kamba\u2013 before providing written consent. Mothers who were illiterate provided consent via thumbprint.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"U.W. has received lecture honoraria from Lundbeck and Janssen and has served on scientific committees for Janssen and Teva, having received honoraria for these activities. All other authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"1950"}}