Cultural Profiles

There is considerable variation across cultures about ways to understand pregnancy, birth, parenting and the human body, including reproductive anatomy and physiology. As well, there is variation between cultures in ways to describe, understand and respond to emotional distress and mental health problems during the perinatal period. Some examples include:

• Cultural, spiritual or religious understandings of illness.
• Physical expressions of psychological distress.
• Using traditional or Western medicines or preferring to combine them.
• Resting in bed for an extended period of time following birth, while the infant’s care is provided by female relatives and friends.
• Requesting or avoiding certain foods.
• Conducting rituals believed to enhance the wellbeing of the mother and infant.
• Handling the infant in particular ways, such as not touching the infant’s head.
• Excluding the father for particular time periods or from certain activities.

The following sub-sections provide cultural profiles for CALD groups in New Zealand. Each profile describes the cultural group’s: migration history; language; spiritual practices; traditional family values; health care beliefs; and traditional practices in pregnancy, birth, neonatal care, infant feeding, and the postnatal period and for postnatal depression. Cultural profiles include culturally appropriate approaches and communication tips and advice for the following groups:

• Chinese women.
• Indian women.
• Korean women.
• Filipino women.
• Japanese women.
• Vietnamese women.
• Myanmarese (Burmese) Karen, Chin and Rohingya women.
• Muslim women.
• Sikh women.