There are a number of research reports that address the various advantages that breastfeeding brings to mothers and children, as well as to families and society, and in addition to a number of physically positive effects, breastfeeding has an important role in terms of mental and psychological effects.Ninety-five % of mothers desire to breastfeed, which reflects social acceptance, but the actual breastfeeding rate of the first month after childbirth is 42%, which accounts for about a half of all mothers. Breastfeeding is a natural behavior, but it cannot be performed only by instinct, so mothers discontinue breastfeeding for various reasons. While these reasons for the discontinuation of breastfeeding have been studied in many countries, research regarding the usability of care to support breastfeeding is being conducted in other countries at a level that can be considered evidential, but not yet in Japan. In addition, the current situation is that breastfeeding is strongly promoted but the support provided remains inadequate for mothers who cannot breastfeed, regardless of whatever efforts they make. This article will review several factors associated with the continuation of breastfeeding and the current situation in Japan, with the intention of identifying desirable areas for further research.

The purposes of this study were to estimate the electrical conductivity of tissues by non-invasively measuring the electrical bio-impedance, to develop a new method for tissue diagnosis, i.e., electrical impedance tomography (EIT). Tissue models were first designed taking into consideration the distribution of the fat tissue, muscle and bone in the human forearm, and then the intra-tissue distributions of electrical potential and field, and the electrical impedance in the models was theoretically analyzed by the three-dimensional finite element method. The electrical impedance of both forearms was measured in healthy human subjects, and estimated the electrical conductivity of individual local tissues. The results of the analysis showed that the distributions of electrical potential and field were affected by the presence of fat tissue but not by the presence or absence of bone. In addition, as a result of calculation of the electrical resistance of the extracellular fluid (Re) in each model, it was found that the value of bio-impedance was influenced by the presence of fat tissue, and the value of bio-impedance was increased by the intervention of a fat layer. The electrical conductivity estimated by fitting the observed values to the values obtained by finite element analysis was 0.40 S/m and 0.15 S/m for male muscle and fat tissue, and 0.35 S/m and 0.11 S/m for female muscle and fat tissue, respectively. The sex difference in the slope of linear approximation in the estimation of electrical conductivity of the males and females was thought to be due to sex differences in the properties and structure of fat tissue. These results suggest that local tissues can be diagnosed differentially and electrically by percutaneous measurement of local bio-impedance and subsequent estimation of the electrical conductivity of each tissue.

Semi-structured 30 -min interviews were conducted with husbands who were presented at childbirth on emergency cesarean sections of their wives in a private room. Those interviews were taken place from one day to six after the emergency cesarean section. Consent was obtained to record the interviews. If consent for recording was refused, responses to the interview were written down. The interviewer inquired about "the husbands' experiences Abstract : The aim of this study was to clarify the experiences of husbands present at their wives' emergency cesarean sections. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for nine husbands who attended their wives' emergency cesarean sections. The results were analyzed using a qualitative inductive approach. Several categories such as [wife's labor pain will be unbearable if I look], [situation was beyond one's control], and [sense of relief experienced by midwife care] were extracted from the husbands'experiences the need for an emergency cesarean section was established. Additional categories such as [sense of relief at cesarean section decision], [convincing oneself], and [anxiety for life and hope for safety] were extracted at the time of the emergency cesarean section decision. Other categories [anxiety while waiting for prolonged periods], [ease of mind with family], and [pleasure in meeting the baby] were extracted from the husbands' experiences while waiting for their wives' cesarean section. Finally, the categories of [unloading of responsibilities], [to thank my wife], and [remaining anxious and fearful] were extracted from the husbands' experiences on their wives return to their hospital rooms. Husbands were anxious about the life and safety of their wife and child, and considered their futures in case of an unexpected occurrence. J. Med. Invest. 65 : 268-273, August, 2018

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