Suffering in Silence: Non-Help-Seeking amongst Women with Postpartum Depression

Abstract: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects about 13% of all women giving birth and is described as a devastating disorder. Yet, the majority of women suffering from PPD do not seek professional help. Insecure attachment is shown to be a significant help-seeking barrier for women with PPD; however as research thus far has focused on help-seeking populations it is still unknown how different attachment styles affect non-help-seeking. For the present study, a sample of 37 women who had not sought or received professional help when suffering from PPD participated. Data was collected by the use of a mixed method design. The major finding of the study is that reasons behind non-help-seeking vary with attachment style. Lack of trust in health care professionals to a greater extent constitutes a help-seeking barrier for individuals with high avoidance of closeness, whilst expectations about motherhood constitute a help-seeking barrier even for women with secure attachment patterns. These findings contribute essential knowledge on how attachment patterns relate to willingness to display symptoms and seek help – knowledge that may be used in health care settings in order to decrease the large amount of women still suffering from PPD in silence.