prenatal care
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The Motherhood Protection Act (1996), which corresponds to modern family health in Japan, was enacted based on the Eugenics Protection Law (1948) for the protection of national eugenics. This leads us to the question of how maternal health and eugenics began to merge in Japan. Answer of this will elucidate the characteristics of family health in Japan and historical background. Maternal health and eugenics began to be fused in Japan in the early 20th century. In this paper, we examined Taikyō, which is the source of this fusion. This book was widely disseminated to the public. An educational book influenced the Japanese women’s movement. Taikyō argued that from the standpoint of public health, responsibility for prenatal care should be extended to the husband, family, society and the nation. It emphasized that “mental hygiene” is necessary to produce a genetically good child, and that spouse selection is important. Books on prenatal care published in the first half of the 20th century, following Taikyō’s description of prenatal care as a form of eugenics. The National Eugenic Act enacted to protect national hygiene inspired the classification of the Japanese as ​​a chosen nation. The theory of prenatal care, which was created from the combination of public hygiene and eugenics, provided a justification for the National Eugenic Act, and this still serves as the basis for the Eugenics Protection Law and Motherhood Protection Act. It provides the “scientific basis” for recognizing that “unsanitary” and “disability” are bad.

Abstract BackgroundLow birth weight (LBW) is one of the major child and infant health issues in the United States, standing as one of the main causes of child and infant mortality. While the importance of prenatal visits regarding pregnancy outcomes is recognized, its relationship with birth weight is still a matter of debate.ObjectivesThis study examines the relationship between the number of prenatal visits and low birth weight among children born in the United States in 2017.Study designData from the CDCs Online Birth Databases are used for this study. 3,864,754 registered children born in the U.S. in 2017 are included in the analyses. The databases also include information on maternal characteristics, pregnancy history and prenatal care characteristics, pregnancy risk factors, delivery characteristics, and infant characteristics. The outcome variable is low birth weight, defined as weight at birth lower than 2500 grams. The independent variable is the number of prenatal visits grouped in three categories (no visit, 10 visits or less, and more than 10 visits. Confounding and covariates include prematurity and plurality among others. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used, reporting unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals.ResultsData from the CDCs Online Birth Databases are used for this study. 3,864,754 registered children born in the U.S. in 2017 are included in the analyses. The databases also include information on maternal characteristics, pregnancy history and prenatal care characteristics, pregnancy risk factors, delivery characteristics, and infant characteristics. The outcome variable is low birth weight, defined as weight at birth lower than 2500 grams. The independent variable is the number of prenatal visits grouped in three categories (no visit, 10 visits or less, and more than 10 visits. Confounding and covariates include prematurity and plurality among others. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used, reporting unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. ConclusionThis study reveals that the number of prenatal visits has an inverse relationship with low birth weight, even when confounding and other factors are accounted for. These findings are compatible with the notion that the more a woman goes for prenatal visits, the more likely it is to detect risks of negative pregnancy outcomes.

Abstract Lay Summary To protect pregnant patients from infection during the COVID pandemic, maternity care providers turned to video and phone visits (“telemedicine”) to provide as much prenatal care as possible. To evaluate this change in our prenatal care program, we surveyed 164 pregnant people who had participated in a virtual prenatal visit about their care. Participants reported both positive and negative experiences, ranging from appreciation for having a safer option than in-person visits during the pandemic, to problems due to poor internet connection, lack of privacy, and lack of access to necessary equipment. Although 77.4% of respondents indicated they would recommend telemedicine to a friend, our program evaluation highlights the fact that the ability to participate in virtual care is not equally distributed. Unless steps are taken to address this problem, relying on telemedicine for a significant portion of prenatal care could result in widening disparities in prenatal care and outcomes. Policymakers and healthcare systems which provide telemedicine must address issues of access to technology and connectivity to avoid adding to maternal health disparities. Objective To evaluate patient experience with a prenatal telemedicine visit and identify barriers to accessing telemedicine among rural pregnant people in northern New England during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods We conducted a post-visit electronic survey of pregnant people who successfully participated in a prenatal telemedicine visit at a rural academic medical center in Northern New England. Nineteen questions were included in five domains; 1) engagement with prenatal care; 2) barriers to telemedicine and in person healthcare; 3) experience of prenatal care; 4) remote pregnancy surveillance tools; 5) sources of COVID-19 information. Results Responses were obtained from 164 pregnant people. Forty percent of participants had participated in an audio-only telemedicine visit, and 60% in a video telemedicine visit. The visit was easy or somewhat easy for 79% of respondents and somewhat difficult or difficult for 6.8%. The most common barrier to accessing telemedicine was poor internet or phone connectivity, followed by childcare responsibilities, lack of equipment and lack of privacy. Participants also engaged in additional remote prenatal care including phone calls with registered nurses (7.6%), communication with the obstetrics team through a secure health messaging portal (21.1%) and home health monitoring (76.3%). Discussion and Conclusions In this survey evaluating the experience of pregnant people participating in a prenatal telemedicine visit during the COVID-19 pandemic, respondents had a positive experience with telemedicine overall, but also identified significant barriers to participation including issues with connectivity and lack of equipment for the visit. Most participants used telemedicine in combination with other tools for remote self-care.

Introducción: El control prenatal es un conjunto de actividades y procedimientos que el equipo de salud ofrece a la embarazada, para la prevención de complicaciones, por medio del diagnóstico precoz de factores de riesgo en la gestante y enfermedades que puedan afectar el curso normal del embarazo y la salud del recién nacido. Objetivo: Identificar los factores asociados a la falta de control prenatal en América latina y su relación con las complicaciones obstétricas. Métodos: investigación de diseño documental con revisión bibliográfica en las bases de datos: PubMed, BVS, Scielo, Latindex, Lilacs y Google académico, con los descriptores de ciencias de la salud (DeCS) de Bireme y los Medical Subject Headings (MesH) de la National Library of Medicine: atención prenatal, embarazo, complicaciones del embarazo, salud materno-infantil, en idioma español e inglés durante el periodo 2015-2021. Resultados: La búsqueda inicial de información reportó un total de 1718 registros, de los cuales 86 eran elegibles, de estos 56 no fueron relevantes, por lo que quedan incluidos 30 que permitieron dar cumplimiento al objetivo de estudio con los cuales se procedió al meta-análisis. Conclusiones: Los factores asociados a la falta de control prenatal son: el bajo nivel de instrucción, ocupaciones del hogar y crianza, falta de empleo, escasos recursos económicos, ubicación geográfica, falta de afiliación, creencias y costumbres, estos factores se relacionan con complicaciones obstétricas como: infecciones, anemia, preeclampsia, hemorragias, desgarros perineales, alumbramiento incompleto, bajo peso y prematuridad. Palabras claves: atención prenatal, embarazo, complicaciones del embarazo, salud materno-infantil ABSTRACT Introduction: Prenatal control is a set of activities and procedures that the health team offers to the pregnant woman, for the prevention of complications, through the early diagnosis of risk factors in the pregnant woman and diseases that may affect the normal course of pregnancy. and the health of the newborn. Objective: To identify the factors associated with the lack of prenatal control in Latin America and its relationship with obstetric complications. Methods: documentary design research with bibliographic review in databases: PubMed, BVS, Scielo, Latindex, Lilacs and academic Google, with the descriptors of health sciences (DeCS) from Bireme and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) from the National Library of Medicine: prenatal care, pregnancy, pregnancy complications, maternal and child health, in Spanish and English during the period 2015-2021. Results: The initial search for information reported a total of 1718 records, of which 86 were eligible, of these 56 were not relevant, so 30 are included that allowed the fulfillment of the study objective with which the goal was carried out. analysis. Conclusions: The factors associated with the lack of prenatal control are: low level of education, home occupations and upbringing, lack of employment, scarce economic resources, geographic location, lack of affiliation, beliefs and customs, these factors are related to complications obstetrics such as: infections, anemia, preeclampsia, hemorrhages, perineal tears, incomplete delivery, low weight and prematurity.Keywords: prenatal care, pregnancy, pregnancy complications, maternal and child health