Okawa Sumiyo, Seino Kaori, Iso Hiroyasu, Tabuchi Takahiro
Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Institute for Global Health Policy Research, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
PeerJ. 2025 Apr 21;13:e19320. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19320. eCollection 2025.
Pregnant and postpartum women often experience parenting problems which may affect their mental health and children's health and development. However, their ability to seek consultation at public service or medical facilities remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the characteristics associated with women who refrain from visiting these facilities for consultation and their reasons for it.
This cross-sectional internet-based survey was conducted in Japan between July and August 2021, involving 7,326 women (1,639 pregnant and 5,687 postpartum women). The study outcome was defined as refraining from seeking consultation on family or parenting issues at public service or medical facilities despite a perceived need. We identified women's characteristics associated with refraining from consultation using multivariable logistic regression and conducted a descriptive analysis of 13 listed reasons for refraining from the consultation.
The percentage of women who reported refraining from seeking consultation at public service or medical facilities was 8.6% and 5.1%, respectively. Common factors associated with refraining from seeking consultation at these facilities included having a child(ren) and being in the postpartum period, low health literacy, lack of partner support, and current disability. "Difficulty taking child(ren) to the consultation" and "uncertainty about the seriousness of the problem" were major reasons for refraining from consultation.
Healthcare workers at public service and medical facilities should offer prenatal education on the importance of seeking help. An online consultation service and an improved facility environment may mitigate women's perceived barriers to seeking consultation.
怀孕和产后女性经常遇到育儿问题，这可能会影响她们的心理健康以及孩子的健康与发育。然而，她们在公共服务机构或医疗机构寻求咨询的能力仍不明确。本研究旨在确定那些不前往这些机构咨询的女性的相关特征及其原因。
2021年7月至8月在日本进行了这项基于网络的横断面调查，涉及7326名女性（1639名孕妇和5687名产后女性）。研究结果定义为尽管有需求，但仍不就家庭或育儿问题在公共服务机构或医疗机构寻求咨询。我们使用多变量逻辑回归确定了与不寻求咨询相关的女性特征，并对列出的13条不寻求咨询的原因进行了描述性分析。
报告未在公共服务机构或医疗机构寻求咨询的女性比例分别为8.6%和5.1%。与不在这些机构寻求咨询相关的常见因素包括育有子女且处于产后阶段、健康素养低、缺乏伴侣支持以及目前有残疾。“带孩子去咨询困难”和“对问题严重性不确定”是不寻求咨询的主要原因。
公共服务机构和医疗机构的医护人员应提供关于寻求帮助重要性的产前教育。在线咨询服务和改善的机构环境可能会减轻女性在寻求咨询时所感知到的障碍。
