Japanese Maternal - Newborn Issues - Literature review Example

Japanese Maternal - Newborn Issues Name Institution Introduction As Alves et al. (2015) observe, when pregnant women’s values and beliefs are taken into perspective, they tend to show greater enthusiasm to engage in self-care and to show trust in the health care system. Studies have also showed that when there is significant level of dynamism in the relationships between the health care practitioners, the pregnant women’s values and beliefs tend to be considered (Lowdermilk, n.d.). In turn, this drives greater participation of the mothers in caring for their health. Besides, pregnancy is a critical learning stage for the woman. It is also a period of intense psychological and physical changes, which requires the involvement of the pregnant woman and humanized and qualified health care (Lowdermilk et al., 2013). Taking this viewpoint, it is argued that a good understanding of the mother’s culture should direct the health care based on her social values, as well as provide greater opportunities for the nursing practitioners to deconstruct the biologist paradigm and encourage a complete and holistic nursing care (Alves et al., 2015). Basing on this line of thought, culture is considered as consisting of sets of beliefs, values, and norms of a certain group of people that may be passed on through sharing and learning and as a result guide thoughts and decisions in a standardized manner. Within this framework, the guiding question of this paper is ‘what are the prenatal, postpartum, and new-born practices in Japan. Hence, the objective is to explore the prenatal, postnatal, and new-born practices, and cultural values while caring for pregnant women in Japan. Antenatal care Antenatal care (ANC) is a pragmatic systematic evaluation and monitoring of pregnant women, which incorporates screening, education, counselling, and treatment to ensure the optimal health of the mother and her foetus and successful childbirth (Al-Ateeq & Al-Rusaiess, 2015). As Zidonis (2012) explains, adequacy and vulnerability and solicitude and shame consists of two fundamental dimensions with the potential to form matrices in which any society’s birth culture can be conceived or located. Against this background, pregnancy can be considered as a period of rejoicing or shame, or sexually strength or extreme vulnerability. Solicitude is illustrated by an increase in support and care by a society for a pregnant woman. Apart from the family’s support, the society, and the health care offers emotional support to a woman. This allows her to feel valued. Regarding the dimension of adequacy, a way in which the society illustrates adequacy in relation to pregnancy is by honouring the pregnancy as a means of transformation into a new social status (Zidonis, 2012) In this respect, Zidonis (2012) comments that the birth culture in the United States is generally viewed within the lenses of “solicitude and vulnerability.” On the other hand, the birth culture in Japan is primarily one of solicitude and adequacy. When a woman becomes pregnant, she is considered a mother and is entitled to the tile of “Okaasan,” which is a courteous expression denoting “mother.” She is then provided with prenatal care from a midwife (Zidonis, 2012). In Japanese antenatal care cultures, a pregnant woman tends to be provided with support immediately after confirmation of a pregnancy. The midwives tend to take most of the primary roles in supporting women compared to doctors, whose roles come in just prior to childbirth. The father is not obligated to be present, as Japanese cultures view pregnancy as a women affair as it occurs in the mother. Therefore, the father is not likely to take an active role. However, this view norm is varied, as some Japanese cultures prefer to consider the involvement of the pregnant woman’s mother or sister (Zidonis, 2012). In respect to nutrition, the tendency to prescribe prenatal supplements is uncommon. Instead, the pregnant woman’s diet is made up of foods viewed to be ‘hot’, such as green tea, carrots, liver, miso soup, ginger, fish, and kabocha squash. The idea is rooted in the yang (hot) versus yin (cold) Chinese culture diet, which is intended to keep internal balance. In which case, a mother is not expected to eat any ‘yin’ foods. A pregnant woman is also thought to take the primary responsibility for ensuring the good foetus’ good outcome. To ensure this, she is expected to break off from work during the early stages of her pregnancy, as this is thought to help her reduce work stresses, which may have physiological effects on the health of the foetus. She is also expected to gain only between 10 and 20 pounds, in spite of her weight before she became pregnant. At the same time, she is expected to keep her body warm using a wrapper called haramaki. The expectant mother should also keep away from negative feelings or thoughts and avoid negative stories or music, or avoid things that bring negative thoughts or sad memories such as funerals or graveyards at all costs, as these are believed to directly affect the foetus (Zidonis, 2012). In the fifth pregnancy month, a common practices among Japanese pregnant during antenatal care include chakutai, which a practice where they have to wrap their abdomen using a bleached cloth that has been given blessing at a Shinto shrine. This is thought to encourage an easy birth. Another common practice in the eighth pregnancy month is saetogari, which is a practice requiring a pregnant woman to return home, usually to her parents and live with them for up to 6 weeks after she has given birth. The husband is not supposed to follow (Zidonis, 2012). Intranatal and Postnatal care During childbirth and labor, it is a norm in Japan for mothers to refrain from expressing pain by remaining silent during labor. The Japanese view labor pains as a critical routine that strengthens the bond between mother and infant. As a result, use of pain and epidural medications is restrained (Zidonis, 2012). In most cases, the sole type of pain relief valued is massage. Therefore, a birth would be considered good when it is quick, hushed and free from use of pain relief medications. Additionally, the Japanese strictly consider childbirth through C-section when it is medically critical as well as when the doctor recommends it. Once a baby is born, its umbilical cord is kept in a kotobuki bako (lifetime box), which would then be handed over to the parents. In future, the parents would give the kotobuki bako to their child’s spouse (Zidonis, 2012). In Japan, postnatal care often last for at least seven days in cases where the vaginal birth is normal. During this time, the new mother is not expected to engage in arduous tasks or work, as she has to rest. The Japanese value breastfeeding and it is ordinary for midwives to provide regular massaging of the new mothers’ breast to trigger reliable lactation. The postnatal diet is nearly the same as antenatal diet, and consists of hot foods (Zidonis, 2012). The mother will normally stay at her parent’s home, where she has to remain for up to six weeks together with the newborn. This is a continued practice and it is even considered a taboo when the mother leaves her parents’ home with baby earlier, except for cases of medical appointments. Additionally, the mother is not expected to take a birth for 2 to 4 weeks after childbirth, as this is considered bad luck. However, she may wipe her body using wet clothes, especially during perineal care. It is a common practice for babies to co-sleep with parents, as this is believed to strengthen the bond with the newborn. Once the baby attains the age of 100 days, she introduced to food, or weaned, through a process called okuizomeor. Nursing intervention and consideration Nursing intervention is essential as it helps prevent the risk of postpartum mental health problems, specifically in Japan where cultural complexities may be a source of stress or relief (Takehara et al., 2016). In spite of the cultural complexities a nurse is likely to encounter in Japan, the purpose of prenatal care should remain identifying current risk factors in addition to related divergences from normal to help ensure favorable pregnancy outcomes. Fortunately, the Japanese cultures encourage greater involvement of a nurse in taking care of pregnant women. Consistent with the Japanese traditions of encourage pregnant women to engage in self-management and care, nurses should center on preventive dimensions of care, essentially to influence the pregnant woman into practicing optimal self-management as well as to report any deviation in from normal to mitigate or avoid pregnancy complications. At the same time, the nurses should guide the pregnant women on the physical changes as well as the psychosocial effects of pregnancy to prevent postnatal mental health (Suto e al., 2016). Overall, nurses should be culturally sensitive, particularly when dealing with immigrant Japanese women. This will ensure greater cultural competence of the nurse and compliance with the norms, traditions, and practices in Japan. As prenatal care is, by its nature, a multidisciplinary process whereby nurses are disposed to work collaboratively with midwives, physicians, social workers, communities and even nutritionist (Lowdermilk, n.d.). While working in Japan, a nurse should, therefore, avoid encouraging pregnant mothers to use dietary supplements, yet still assess their food preparation styles. They also need to the mother’s weight maintenance goals, and psychosocial support with local resources available to her, along with a medical translator if needed, to attend appointments and procedures with her (Zidonis, 2012). The nurse should also always be respectful and ask for the pregnant mother’s permission before suggesting any treatment. For intranatal, the nurse can provide some help with alternative pain control methods, such as massaging rather than recommending the use of pain relief medications. In which case, they should not assume that just because a woman in labor is quiet does not imply she is not feeling pain. However, it is important to determine the pain level that she can tolerate (Lowdermilk et al., 2013). During postnatal care, a nurse should continue to regularly assess the new mother’s pain, and help her to trigger breastfeeding through breast massage. They should also understand that the new mother may not wish to take a bath because of cultural traditions, and should therefore provide them with a wet cloth or sponge (Zidonis, 2012). During newborn care, the mother should be inform about the risks linked to co-sleeping with the newborns such suffocation, yet also show some understanding that it is a cultural practice (Zidonis, 2012). Conclusion A good understanding of the mother’s culture should direct the health care based on her social values, as well as provide greater opportunities for the nursing practitioners to deconstruct the biologist paradigm and encourage a complete and holistic nursing care. In Japan, the birth culture is fundamentally one of solicitude and adequacy. In which case, when a woman becomes pregnant, she is considered a mother and is quickly provided with societal support. A pregnant woman is also thought to take the primary responsibility for ensuring the good foetus’ good outcome. Nursing intervention is, however, essential as it helps prevent the risk of pregnancy complications as well as mental health problems. In spite of the cultural complexities a nurse is likely to encounter in Japan, the purpose of nursing care should remain identifying current risk factors in addition to related divergences from normal to help ensure favorable pregnancy outcomes. Overall, nurses should be culturally sensitive, particularly when dealing with immigrant Japanese women. This ensures greater cultural competence of the nurse and compliance with the norms, traditions, and practices in Japan. References Al-Ateeq, M. & Al-Rusaiess, A. (2015). Health education during antenatal care: the need for more. Int J Womens Health, 7(1), 239–242. Alves, C, Wilhelm, L., Barretor, C., Santos, C., Meincke, S. & Ressel, L. (2015). Prenatal care and culture: an interface in nursing practice. Esc. Anna Nery, 19(2). Lowdermilk, D., Perry, S. & Cashion, M. (2013). Maternity nursing - revised reprint. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences Suto, M., Takehara, K., Yamane, Y. & Ota, E. (2016). Effects of prenatal childbirth education for partners of pregnant women on paternal postnatal mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. Systematic Reviews, 5(21) Takehara, K., Okamura, M., Sugiura, N., Suto, M. & Sasaki, H. (2016). Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of providing information on childbirth and postnatal period to partners of pregnant women. BMJ Open, 1(1), 1-6 Zidonis, K. (2012). The Influences of Japanese Pre—and Postnatal Care on Education. Dagaku Ronsyu, 57-65 Read More