Migrant Mother Mental Health (MiMoMent): epidemiology and neurobiological correlates of perinatal mental health among migrant mother-child dyads living in the Netherlands

It is estimated that about 4% of the world's population are migrants and refugees. People who moved away from their country of origin, either forcibly or by choice, may experience a range of stressors, that can occur prior to their journey (e.g., economic deprivation), during (e.g., difficult journey) or following their resettlement (e.g., experiences of stigma). These factors can increase the risk of development of mental health conditions. Estimates suggest that common mental conditions are four to six times more prevalent among refugees compared to the general population. Similarly, severe mental conditions, such as bipolar disorders and psychosis are two times more common in this population compared to individuals who reside in their country of origin. Despite this increased prevalence, the mental health needs of migrants often remain unmet, and many people do not receive any treatment in primary or specialized mental health care. This can be attributed to various supply-side challenges, such as limited resources or legal-administrative reasons. Additionally, demand-side barriers, including language, stigma, and cultural beliefs, further hinder access to mental health care. Such decreased access to care further increases the burden of mental health conditions, at both an individual and society level. This is particularly true for vulnerable sub-groups of migrants, such as children and youth as well as pregnant women. A research gap compounds these overall challenges, with a scarcity of high-quality studies investigating the prevalence and specific risk factors for mental disorders as well as access to care in migrants.
With this study we aim to increase our understanding of perinatal mental health in migrant and refugee mothers, exploring their epidemiology as well as risk and protective factors and potential impact on their children.

The MiMoMent project consists of two components.

Component 1: A cohort study, where about 200 perinatal migrant and refugee women (and their un/newborn children) will be enrolled as participants. Women will be recruited between 18- and 24-weeks pregnancy and three additional assessments take place until 6 months post-partum. We will collect self-report data on symptoms of PMCs (i.e., depression, anxiety, PTSD) as well as on potential risk and protective factors. We will also measure the concentration of relevant neurobiological markers in hair samples as well as child-level outcomes.

Component 2: We will conduct a registry study, with data from the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS). Here we will analyze data on mental health in the perinatal period, to explore the prevalence rates and risk factors for diagnosed mental health conditions among migrants living in the Netherlands, exploring potential differences with trends among native-born Dutch individuals.

The integration of findings from the two components will contribute to the overarching goal of reducing the burden of mental health conditions for displaced women and children living in the Netherlands and beyond.

Navigating pregnancy and motherhood can be challenging, especially for migrant and refugee women. 1 in 4 migrant pregnant women deals with depression and 1 in 5 with anxiety. These struggles not only affect new moms but can also impact their children. That's why we're working on MiMoMent, a study focusing on the mental health of migrant mothers in the Netherlands. We will follow these mothers from around 20 weeks of pregnancy until 6 months after birth, asking them to share their experiences through four brief online surveys. We're also exploring the biology behind these experiences by analyzing stress hormones, in the mom and babies’ hair. In addition, we will analyze nation-wide data from the Netherlands to understand how common mental conditions are in pregnancy in migrant women compared to native Dutch mothers. Our aim is to understand what factors can influence the mental health of pregnant women who migrated to the Netherlands and how their experiences might affect their newborns.