title: Japanese women's experiences from pregnancy through early postpartum period.
abstract: Declining availability and accessibility of perinatal health care are emergent social concerns. Based on the Listening to Mothers-II (LTM-II) surveys, we describe a total of 20 Japanese women's perinatal experiences. Data were qualitatively compared with those of U.S. women, using a theoretical framework for evaluation of primary health care. Japanese women overcame their worries by engaging in healthy behaviors, accepting hardships such as labor pain, and receiving assurance from health professionals and modern technology. We found that while U.S. and Japanese women's perinatal experiences reflected their unique cultural values and social context, a cross-cultural universality of birthing women's experiences exists.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. riekokishi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: Beverly J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McElmurry
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vonderheid
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altfeld
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McFarlin
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tashiro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult