Indigenous Moms Are More Likely To Have Postpartum Depression: Canadian Study – HuffPost Canada

Intergenerational trauma from residential schools may play a role.

Maya Houle believes intergenerational trauma is the reason she’s currently suffering from postpartum depression.

“My mother is a ’60s Scoop survivor,” the Edmonton mother of two told HuffPost Canada. Her youngest child is just seven weeks old. Houle also suffered from postpartum depression (PPD) following the birth of her first child, who’s now two and a half.

“My grandparents were both Indian residential school survivors so there is a disconnect not only with my mother’s generation, but my grandparents and even my great grandparents. That’s a lot of trauma woven into my DNA as a nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman),” Houle said.

“I felt as if I lacked the ability to be a mother because I hadn’t been mothered,” Houle said. “My mother was suffering from her own traumas and I didn’t have traditions or my kokom (grandmother) to teach me how to prepare for my baby.”

Read More: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/09/26/indigenous-postpartum-depression_a_23541697/