28% of mothers in Esmeraldas, the province with the most violent deaths in Ecuador, have depression and some have suicidal ideas, reveals a preliminary study by Kaleidos and the University of Michigan

The province of Esmeraldas is It is becoming the one with the most records of violent deaths in the country with a rate of 63.03% compared to 36.08% in Zone 8 (Guayaquil, Samborondón and Durán), according to police data.

Robberies, threats, extortion and general violence are becoming more common every day. And while these events are taking place, a new problem is emerging that affects mothers and their children: the deterioration of mental health.

The University of Michigan, in the United States, together with Kaleidos, an interdisciplinary ethnography center based at the University of Cuenca, are conducting a study on maternal mental health in the province of Esmeraldas.

“If we do nothing, this will become no man’s land,” says the police chief in the face of the rapid increase in violent deaths and robberies in Esmeraldas

Fu Yu Chang, Family Physician and Master in Medical Anthropology, indicates that the University of Michigan obtained alarming data. “They recently did a screening. We know that mental health directly influences the health of children. They applied a questionnaire to identify maternal depression and were surprised that 28% of these mothers were at risk for maternal depression, many of them suicidal. So, from that, the University needed to contact more local people for qualitative research”, says Chang.

So, it was there that the participation of Kaleidos entered, who are specialized in qualitative research in the field. Chang along with another expert went to a parish in the city of Esmeraldas, from May to July 2022, and they showed that women deal with different situations.

“We have seen that people normalize violence. Of the three months that we were there, we saw that there were about six funerals, many of those deaths were violent and no further investigation is being carried out and it is like another case. We have seen that people are getting used to it. Women don’t talk much about being depressed, but they obviously worry, they can’t sleep, they’re very anxious, that reflects that they are depressive symptoms, but they don’t identify it clinically because I imagine it’s common”, says the family doctor.

Having an active sexual life without becoming pregnant or presenting biological problems generates a decrease in the number of births in Ecuador

Now there is a team from the University of Michigan that always remains in the place because it is an inhabitant of Esmeraldas. And with the information that it is collecting, it hopes to continue with the second phase.

“The preliminary numbers were alarming enough for the Michigan team to be concerned and want to dig deeper. The second phase will be planned,” says Chang, adding that this study analyzes certain weeks of pregnancy, then when the child is one month old, and so on. “There are many mothers who have to be re-evaluated”emphasizes Chang.

Chang, who is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, points out that the purpose with this 28% is to know the causes that affect mothers. She thinks it could be the socioeconomic situation.

“They tried to blackmail me and they wrote to me on WhatsApp,” a young account from Quinindé, canton of Esmeraldas where violent deaths are also on the rise

“We all know that Esmeraldas is a historically abandoned province. The objective in public health and anthropology is to find the reasons why there is a precariousness in people’s lives, to find solutions. There is no way to propose solutions if we do not find the causes. Many can be extended depending on the need”, says Chang. (YO)