Systemic inequities and depressive symptomology in Hispanic mothers: A path analysis model

Hispanic mothers are one of the largest groups to give birth. They also experience high rates of morbidity and mortality; however, there is limited data related to their health inequities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate systemic inequities associated with discrimination using the Reproductive Justice Framework to observe factors that influenced depressive symptomology in Hispanic women.

A path analysis was conducted to evaluate systemic inequities that influenced postpartum depression using the public database, Listening to Mothers III (LMIII). The sub-sample consisted of n = 406 Hispanic mothers. Data was initially collected between the years 2011 and 2013.

Hispanic mothers were more likely to experience occurrences of perceived discrimination while seeking perinatal healthcare. These occurrences of discrimination led to lower trust in their healthcare providers, lower satisfaction with care, more instances of unwanted medical procedures, the need to feel to hold back comments about their health which ultimately resulted in higher rates of self-reported postpartum depression. The model fit indices supported the model's plausibility (χ² /df ratio = 3.16, Comparative Fit Index = 0.91, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.06).

This data supported our hypothesis that the pathway of discriminatory barriers Hispanic mothers experience during pregnancy influence postpartum depression.