Inequities in maternal stressful life events between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women – evidence from a prospective cohort study in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Experiences of major, stressful life events (SLE) prior to and during pregnancy, and in early childhood, are associated with a range of adverse outcomes that disproportionately impact Indigenous women and their families. However, little is known about Indigenous women's experiences of SLE . The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) inequities in the prevalence and patterning of SLE between Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers over time, and; (2) associations between maternal SLE and ethnicity, age, socioeconomic deprivation and time. Data were from the Moe Kura prospective cohort study of 418 Indigenous Māori and 768 non-Māori women in New Zealand. Questionnaires were completed at 35–37 weeks gestation, 12-weeks postpartum, and when their child was 3–4 years of age. The prevalence of five SLE domains was estimated by ethnicity. Generalised linear mixed effects models examined associations between SLE domains and ethnicity, age, socioeconomic deprivation, and time. The prevalence of SLE was greater for Māori than non-Māori at each time point. The probability of reporting SLE increased as neighbourhood deprivation worsened. The probability of reporting SLE reduced with older age, although changes in the estimates were greater for non-Māori than Māori women. Findings show that Indigenous women experience persistent and significant inequities in SLE. Younger maternal age and greater socioeconomic deprivation explain some but not all of the inequities observed. Policies and interventions to address how colonialism and racism structure experiences of SLE for Indigenous women, including via socioeconomic deprivation, are required.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous
• maternal stress
• stressful life events
• women’s health
• inequities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study may be available from the Primary Investigators of the Moe Kura study (SJP and TLS), upon reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a University of Auckland Faculty Research Development Fund New Staff Grant awarded to Dr Paine. The Moe Kura cohort study was funded by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC 08/547 and 09/255) and Massey University Strategic Development Fund.