Barriers to postpartum health and opinions on a postpartum peer navigator program amongst refugee women resettled in California.

Background: The aim of this study is to identify postpartum challenges and assess for interest in a postpartum peer navigator program amongst refugee women resettled in California.

Methods: Participants were recruited through ethnic community-based organizations in California using convenience and snowball sampling. Arabic, Dari, or Pashto speaking women who have given birth in the United States within the last five years and entered the country as refugees, special immigrant visa holders, or asylum seekers were eligible to participate. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis.

Results: We interviewed 26 participants. The mean age was 30 years (SD = 6.3) and mean length of time in the United States was 4.5 years (SD = 3.0). All participants are state insurance recipients. Most participants (89%, n = 23) utilize an interpreter. We identified seven themes: (1) lack of comprehensible postpartum information; (2) displacement and isolation worsen postpartum mental health; (3) stigma and fear discourage seeking postpartum mental health care; (4) barriers in interpretation undermine postpartum care recommendations; (5) interest in a language concordant postpartum navigator.

Conclusions: Refugee women encounter challenges with contraception and mental health care postpartum exacerbated by language barriers and difficulties with interpreter use. There is interest in language concordant postpartum peer navigation as tool to mitigating these challenges.