Writer Profile

Keiko Tsuji
Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care Associate ProfessorSpecialization / Maternal Nursing, Midwifery

Keiko Tsuji
Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care Associate ProfessorSpecialization / Maternal Nursing, Midwifery
Daily life has returned to campus. Through face-to-face interactions with students, including in classes, I am once again conscious of the difficulty and strength of that "one-time-only" nature of interaction. This may be because it relates to the word "care," which guides nursing and medical care and aids understanding.
Currently, I am primarily in charge of midwifery subjects. The role of a midwife is to maintain and support the normal progress of pregnancy and childbirth. Inherently, pregnancy and childbirth are viewed as healthy and physiological changes. However, even if the process appears to follow a generally common pattern, it differs from person to person (and even for the same person each time). Therefore, the necessary care is precisely a one-time-only experience. I am currently conducting research focusing on labor duration and maternal and child health outcomes, as well as the experiences of midwives who support pregnant women and their partners when they encounter difficult decisions during pregnancy.
Due to the declining birthrate, bed occupancy rates in obstetric wards continue to fall, and as the number of facilities handling deliveries decreases, there are increasing situations where midwives cannot exercise their original potential. However, there are facilities where doctors and midwives collaborate to provide evidence-based care that draws out the latent power of the pregnant woman herself. Currently, our faculty is conducting midwifery education with the cooperation of these facilities. It is said that when women and their families choose a method of childbirth based on their own values¡ªor even if that is not possible for some reason, if the parties involved experience childbirth while being respected¡ªthere is a high possibility that subsequent child-rearing will also go well. With the support of experienced midwives, students provide one-time-only care to pregnant women, accumulating experiences that simultaneously increase their own sense of self-efficacy.
I am reminded of the words of biologist Shin-Ichi Fukuoka, who compared it to plant photosynthesis and symbiosis: "Humans also have their own empowerment, and perhaps altruism occurs when the excess created there is passed on to someone else without a specific purpose." As someone involved in education, I am also made to think about my own role in providing care for students.
Since the beginning of this year, I have heard the phrase "unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate." While the current flow of discussion centers on women's employment, marriage, and whether or not they have children, I wonder if we could share this issue based on women's health and rights without subdividing their positions. I hope that discussions on the environment for women to "give birth" and measures against the declining birthrate will progress while keeping in view health support for people of all positions across generations within society.
*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.