Maternal Health Care

after Childbirth in Japan

Madre Bonita

Hi, my name is Maco Yoshioka.I am a founder and executive director of MadreBonita.

Madre Bonita is supporting mothers’ mental & physical healthcare.

Providing a holistic fitness program designed for women after childbirth.

Not only for the physical fitness but also for the mental wellness of mothers .

Now you arelooking at mothers with big smiles.

ButI ask you please not to take their smiles for granted.and I would like to share some issues with you.

There is

a paradox.

There is a paradox concerning childbirth in Japan.

When you have a baby. First thing you hear is Congratulations.

Neonatal deaths per1000

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Somalia(61)

Congo(56)

Pakistan(53)

Japan(1)

per1000

The graph shows that we can give birth safely in Japan.With good sanitation and medical treatment.

Not so simple

But things are not so simple.

100,000/year

suffer from

postpartum depression.

Every year in Japan 100,000 mothers suffer from postpartum depression within a year after childbirth. That is 10% of all mothers with babies under 12months.

80% feel

I was nealy

there.80% said I was nearly there even though I wasn’t diagnosed as depression.

So many mothers are living on the edge with little babies in their hands.

QUESTION

What would you do

if your best friend told you

that she abused her baby?

Now I would like to ask you a question. What would you do if your best friend told you that she abused her baby? You don’t want to believe it. But…What can you do to help her?

What could’ve been done to prevent it?

60%

child abuse

victims babies under 12

month

Actually 60% of the child abuse victims reported are babies under 12 month.Such a heart breaking news.

So this is not somebody else’s problem. This is what Madre Bonita is tackling.

To bring solutions you have to find the reason causing the problem.Now please listen to my story.

1998 March

In 1998 I gave birth to my little son. Now that I am a mother of a teenager.I still remember the hardest time I had. A year after childbirth.

1998 AprilThe doctor told me the baby was growing well so there is nothing to worry about.

But I myself was feeling very unstable and exhausted.Everyone’s attention was concentrated on the baby.

The mother was left alone with pressures and fatigue.

1. Had never been

informed

2. No system for mothersI was surprised for 2 reasons.

First of all because I had never been informed I was going to be like this.It was never taught at school. It's all hidden.

Secondly because there is no system for mothers to stay healthy.

maternal healthcare paid at public expense

mother

Pregnancy

Birth

BABYWhen you look at the Japanese maternal healthcare paid at public expense.For expectant mothers free parenting class,

regular checkups, a lot of information.The National Health Insurance takes care of the cost of birth.For babies free immunizations, free checkups, free medical care.But there is almost nothing for mothers.

Never blame

mothers.

So it is wrong to blame mothers for depression or child abuse.

Understanding

Professional

support

Social supportLack of understanding lack of professional or social support are causing such problems.

That’s I found out 14 years ago.

Holistic fitness program

for

mothers after childbirth

Here is how we support mothers. We have a network of 23 certified trainers in 9 prefectures from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

50 classes are held every week.

Since mothers and babies tend to be the last to be looked after because their voices are not very loud. we are really impressed that people from overseas pay attention to mothers and babies in Tohoku

and understand the strong needs to support them to empower themselves.

Thank you so much for this opportunity

and all your support !

Madre Bonita

What we do might be a small step but I believe the power of an individual who will be making a big impact. and the power of connecting each other with strong bond.

We are looking forward to sharing the process and results of our project. Thank you so much for this opportunity and all your support !