BACKGROUND:
Perinatal mental health is of growing concern worldwide, however, it appears to be a dearth of research in the Middle East region. Therefore, there was a need to identify the prevalence of mental health issues, screening tools and associated risk factors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

OBJECTIVES:
To illustrate the available evidence on perinatal mental health in the UAE

METHODS:
A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework via searching five bibliographic databases and the gray literature. The search identified 18 articles that were published between 1997 and 2024.

RESULTS:
Approximately one third of women in UAE reported to have postpartum depress at six months after birth (33% in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and 35% across four emirates of the UAE. There was a scarcity of research on anxiety, postpartum psychosis, suicidal ideation, or childbirth trauma. This review highlighted a lack of screening and appropriate support for perinatal mental health. The risk factors that contributed to adverse maternal mental health status were marital instability, a history of depression, stressful life events, and a young maternal age. In contrast, the protective factors were emotional sharing, religious beliefs, and robust family support.

CONCLUSIONS:
Postpartum depression is prevalent in the UAE. There is no robust health system design or policy to detect and refer the women in need to the appropriate support. More research is required to understand cultural nuances in perinatal mental health so that appropriate strategies can be tailored to the population. Increasing the midwifery workforce also might be important to improve the experience of care through appropriate emotional support and referral system.

KEY MESSAGE:
There is a need for improving health system in UEA to improve screening and appropriate support for women who are at risk of perinatal mental health issues. Increasing midwifery workforce may be a good start. Preferred presentation language Mental health - data