Pregnancy and the puerperium: the social and psychological context

Much of the unhappiness in women's lives is related to low socio-economic status, poverty, domestic violence and lack of social support. Many women and their families living in poor social conditions are sick to death of poverty. Coupled with this the spectre of domestic violence makes many women's lives unbearable. These social factors are significant risk factors of physical and perinatal morbidity/mortality in adults, neonates and older children. An appreciation of some of the social factors that impact on women's well-being is clearly crucial to an understanding of parental mental health.