The purpose of this study was to understand: (a) the feelings, thoughts and actions of parents at the time their children were diagnosed as having cerebral palsy; (b) the crisis periods in raising their children; (c) the important persons who supported the parents during the 'acceptance' phase; and (d) the roles of mothers and fathers in raising the children. The subjects were 28 mothers and fathers who had sons or daughters with cerebral palsy. The latter offspring were aged 22-29 years at the time of this study. They were interviewed at their homes with a semi-structured method retrospectively. The results showed that most parents became aware of their children's disability in infancy and most of their children were diagnosed as having cerebral palsy by around 2 years of age. The mothers' reactions to the diagnosis were emotional and those of the fathers were realistic in coping with the problem. Although crisis periods arose throughout the periods of growth and development of the children, the infancy period was the more critical for mothers and the toddlerhood, school-age and adolescence periods were more critical for fathers. The important support people were the spouses. The mothers took care of the children while the fathers provided an income; however, some fathers withdrew from competing for achievement in their jobs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Japanese Infant Mental Health Program (JIMHP) for preterm mother-infant dyads until the infants reached 12 months of corrected age. Mothers in the JIMHP group (n = 26) received one hospital visit in addition to standard care in the Growing Care Unit (GCU) and five home visits based on the principles of infant mental health (IMH) after discharge from the hospital, until the infant reached 12 months of corrected age. In contrast, mothers in the control program group (n = 40) received standard care in the GCU and three conventional home visits during the same period. The dyads were then compared across groups, revealing that the JIMHP dyads showed less maternal depressive symptoms, better maternal interaction, increased social support by medical workers and healthcare professionals, a high persistence rate for attending the program, and a more positive perception toward the program (p < .05). However, there were no significant differences in the impact of parenting stress or in child development. These results are discussed in terms of their significance and the practical/clinical availability of IMH principles and the JIMHP as a new support model for preterm infants in Japan.

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The study was an exploratory pilot study in which subjects consisted of adolescent mothers and their infants in Japan. Background: Japanese adolescents giving birth to their babies are increasing although only at a rate of 1.4%. They chose to give birth more often instead of abortion than in past years. In Japanese society, it is not easy for an adolescent to be recognized as a mother because their knowledge is not sufficient for parenting and they are not ready to be a mother. They usually need support to be a mother. PurposeThe study examined relationships among adolescent mother-infant interaction, maternal self-esteem, and parenting stress, which affect child development, in order to make recommendations for helping Japanese adolescent mothers in parenting. Methods: The subjects were 10 adolescent mothers and their infants aged 3-12 months (adolescent group) and 10 mothers whose mean age was 28.9 years, the same age range when Japanese women gave birth to their first baby (comparison group). This study examined differences in mother-infant interaction, self-esteem, and parenting stress between the adolescent and comparison groups. Results: Maternal self-esteem had a significant negative correlation with mother-infant interaction and parenting stress. Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale scores-especially the "Sensitivity to Cues" subscale-among the adolescent group were significantly lower than those of the comparison group. High parenting stress was influenced by difficulty in understanding about infant and a restraint coming from the parenting role. Conclusion: Delicately reading of child cues and promptly an appropriately responds to them make more attuned mother-infant relationships. The study suggested that adolescent mother-infant relationship has positive correlation of maternal self-esteem and parenting stress, informing recommendations for nurses to replace their negative selfimage of these youth with a positive one, which may ultimately lessen parenting stress.