TY - JOUR
T1 - Faith Practices Reduce Perinatal Anxiety and Depression in Muslim Women
T2 - A Mixed-Methods Scoping Review
AU - Simonovich, Shannon D.
AU - Quad, Nadia
AU - Kanji, Zehra
AU - Tabb, Karen M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Simonovich, Quad, Kanji and Tabb.
PY - 2022/5/24
Y1 - 2022/5/24
N2 - Higher rates of depression and anxiety are reported among women who belong to racial and ethnic minority groups, contributing to adverse birth outcomes, and remains a taboo topic within the global Muslim community. Non-pharmacological coping mechanisms such as prayer may be employed to reduce perinatal depression and anxiety, however the literature is sparse on the use of this intervention among pregnant Muslim women. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a scoping review examining the use of Muslim faith practices on anxiety and depression in perinatal period. Nine studies were identified that demonstrate that Muslim faith practices reduce perinatal anxiety and depression symptoms. These studies demonstrate that prayers and other faith-based practices, including reciting parts of the Quran, saying a Dua, and listening to audio recordings of prayers are all effective in decreasing anxiety, depression, stress, pain and fear in Muslim women during pregnancy, during childbirth, during an unexpected cesarean section, and when experiencing infant loss. Despite the scoping review's small sample size, findings confirm that incorporation of faith practices effectively reduces perinatal depression and anxiety among Muslim women and should be utilized in clinical settings for non-pharmacological management of perinatal mood disorders.
AB - Higher rates of depression and anxiety are reported among women who belong to racial and ethnic minority groups, contributing to adverse birth outcomes, and remains a taboo topic within the global Muslim community. Non-pharmacological coping mechanisms such as prayer may be employed to reduce perinatal depression and anxiety, however the literature is sparse on the use of this intervention among pregnant Muslim women. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a scoping review examining the use of Muslim faith practices on anxiety and depression in perinatal period. Nine studies were identified that demonstrate that Muslim faith practices reduce perinatal anxiety and depression symptoms. These studies demonstrate that prayers and other faith-based practices, including reciting parts of the Quran, saying a Dua, and listening to audio recordings of prayers are all effective in decreasing anxiety, depression, stress, pain and fear in Muslim women during pregnancy, during childbirth, during an unexpected cesarean section, and when experiencing infant loss. Despite the scoping review's small sample size, findings confirm that incorporation of faith practices effectively reduces perinatal depression and anxiety among Muslim women and should be utilized in clinical settings for non-pharmacological management of perinatal mood disorders.
KW - Muslim
KW - faith
KW - mental health
KW - postpartum
KW - pregnancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131880177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85131880177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.826769
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.826769
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35686180
AN - SCOPUS:85131880177
SN - 1664-0640
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
M1 - 826769
ER -