The detrimental effects of hardship during pregnancy in immigrants on their children

Summary

Material hardship (e.g., housing hardship and bill-paying hardship) is common among international immigrants as immigration presents enormous challenges (e.g., financial problems, language barriers and unmet health services). As such, newcomer women tend to experience less maternity care and be vulnerable to hardship exposure during pregnancy, causing more prevalent postpartum depression than non-immigrants and thereby having long-lasting adverse impacts on child behaviours. Our study aims to examine atypical brain alterations via which maternal hardship caused by immigration affects infant temperament which is a significant predictor of behavioural problems later in life. The findings will provide pilot data for optimizing child neurodevelopment and lifelong mental health among Canadian new arrival communities.

Eligibility

Currently recruiting participants: Yes

Eligible ages: 18 to 55

Accepts healthy participants: Yes

Inclusion criteria:

We will recruit pregnant women who are 1) 18 years of age or older.;2) with a singleton pregnancy; 3) arrived in Canada within the last 5 years; 5) Able to read, write and speak English; and 6) live in Calgary, Alberta.

Exclusion criteria:

Exclusion criteria for recruitment include participants who 1) were born in Canada, 2) are over 35 weeks pregnant and 3) do not understand English consent forms

Participate

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Method of contact

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Additional information

Contact information

Xinyuan Li Postdoctoral Research Fellow Developmental Neuroimaging Lab Department of Radiology, University of Calgary Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Principal investigator:

Catherine Lebel

Clinical trial:

No

REB-ID:

REB25-1099