key: cord-0823133-po3ocohd
authors: Haruna, Megumi; Nishi, Daisuke
title: Perinatal mental health and COVID‐19 in Japan
date: 2020-06-24
journal: Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13091
sha: e7f1ab2b11aa1217b7d02978c161d21cd64aed5c
doc_id: 823133
cord_uid: po3ocohd

nan

Furthermore, due to COVID-19, pregnant women cannot choose the unique Japanese cultural custom of satogaeri childbirth. Many Japanese women plan to return to their parents' home when they are close to the delivery date and stay there for a few months of nurturing care for both mother and baby. A previous study showed that satogaeri childbirth was negatively associated with maternity blues (4), though another study showed it did not lower the incidence of postpartum depression (5) . As part of the COVID-19 response, Japanese government and public health specialists have recommended avoiding visits to other prefectures. The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has urged pregnant women not to visit their hometowns where their parents live but to give birth at their local hospitals, in order to prevent further spread of the virus (6). Pregnant women who registered with a hospital near their parents' home in This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

another prefecture have been forced to change hospitals. According to the news of April 24, a woman who intended to deliver a baby by Satogaeri in Iwate prefecture was refused to be hospitalized because the woman was from Tokyo metropolitan area (7).

This might have caused anxiety for pregnant women. In addition, some pregnant women have had to change their birth plans because hospitals now restrict families from attending childbirths to avoid infection. Many pregnant women now have to be alone during delivery, with no family support. This might affect adversely their mental health and worsen fear of childbirth (8) .

COVID-19 has had widespread effects on perinatal mental health. It is important to thoroughly understand the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, especially in Japan, with its unique practice peculiarities such as satogaeri childbirth. It is also necessary to enhance the level of support that can be implemented even under the circumstances of COVID-19. Online support is thought to be one of the most optimal options because of its high accessibility and lack of physical contact. We have developed a smartphone-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) program for pregnant women and are conducting a randomized controlled trial aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of iCBT to prevent the onset of antenatal and postpartum depression (9) . We hope to contribute to the implementation and dissemination of tools for the universal prevention of perinatal depression.

Attention to Prevention-Can We Stop Perinatal This article is protected by copyright

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