リプロ・リサーチ実行委員会について ～About us～
（In English below）
「リプロ・リサーチ実行委員会」は、日本国内外の産婦人科医療・助産に関わる医療者、研究者、妊娠出産育児サポート専門職などの有志により、2021年9月に作られました。
医療利用者である女性・赤ちゃん、家族にできる限りの充実したケアが提供されること、現場方針が改善されるために医療利用者の声を届けること、女性の人権が守られることを目的に活動しています。
これまでオンライン調査、健康と権利の視点からエビデンスに基づく産科ガイドラインへの改善を求め厚生労働省や関係学会に要望書を提出、「すべての女性と赤ちゃんの人権を守ってください」と題する署名募集活動もおこなってきました。
2023年6月開催のICM 国際助産師連盟コングレスでは、コロナ禍の出産でより明らかになった日本の実情についてポスター発表、7月には第1回医療安全心理・行動学会学術総会で発表します。
また、委員会では今後の学会発表やイベント、ロビー活動などの経費のために、寄付を募集しています。皆様からのご支援を、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
詳細・ご寄付へのご協力はこちらから：https://repro-goshien2023.peatix.com/view
About Reproductive Research Committee
Established in 2021 by researchers, midwives and a doula in Japan, UK and Spain.
We advocate for maternity service users' and workers' voices, promoting and protecting woman / baby / family - centered and evidence based practice in Japan.
Since 2020 March, maternity care in Japan has ignored women and babies’ human rights. Under the name of infection control, maternity care has become medicalised.
Majority of women who are COVID-19 positive are forced to have caesarean section, in order to minimise risk of spread of virus, which of course is totally not evidence based.
Almost all babies born from mothers who are COVID-19 positive were not given a chance to do skin to skin. They are separated from their mother straight after birth, as long as the whole inpatient period, sometimes up to 10 days.
The hospital restrictions on visitors are strict. Women are also not supported by the birth partners they choose.
These inhumane treatments are still happening even at this moment in Japan. These interventions were led by Japanese obstetric associations. The Department of Health does not take initiatives to change obstetricians’ practice. Worse still, women are left ignorant about the individual hospital policy therefore not aware what type of care they are going to receive.
We Repro Research Committee conducted a survey and we found out that Women who are forced to have unnecessary operations, removed their new born babies, and give birth with no support, rather than express their agony and anger, they blame themselves of contracting COVID-19 or even having baby during this pandemic.
The midwives and other health professionals often doubt the necessity of interventions but felt powerless and did not voice their concerns.
As a project, we have started a petition, visited the department of health and requested to assess this situation, had a press conference, media coverage and requested professional bodies to have discussions to review evidence and reflect on their care. Nonetheless, the practice remains the same.
The effect of inhumane treatment the women and babies are exposed to will impact our society for a long time. We will see the scar of this violence for generations after generations.
So what are midwives doing about it?
In Japan, there are three midwifery professional bodies which are members of ICM.
日本助産師会 Japan Midwives Association, 日本助産学会 Japan Academy of Midwifery 日本看護協会 Japanese Nursing Association.
These professional bodies have not managed to change or even question this medicalised practice so far. None of these associations had translated the ICM statement “Women’s Rights in Childbirth Must be Upheld During the Coronavirus Pandemic” published in 2020.
In other words, these professional bodies have not shown any leadership in collecting midwives’ and women’s voice. In contrast, they are silencing themselves and disempowering themselves, being afraid of upsetting obstetricians.
Japan once had very strong midwifery professionals. Japanese midwifery care used to be autonomous and influential, protecting and empowering women. Sadly, due to changes in midwifery education, employment systems, midwifery is not as independent and autonomous as before.
Japan is proud to be one of the countries with advanced obstetric medicine with the lowest maternal death and neonatal death. Because of this, the real issues around women and babies' birth experiences are not well known to the international community.
COVID-19 has affected everyone including midwives, midwifery services and women babies and families. Already marginalized population got more marginalized by this pandemic and this applies to maternity care.
Medicalisation of birth is happening everywhere in the world. Exploring the unique issues Japanese midwifery profession is facing can give insights into the importance of coming together, strengthening midwifery evidence and associations and its partnership with women to advocate women’s voice, protect birth and women’s experience.
New mom shares concerns for pregnant women with COVID-19
(The Asahi Shinbun, August 30, 2021)
Hospitals turn to C-sections as beds fill up with infected women
(The Asahi Shinbun, August 22, 2022)
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リプロ・リサーチ実行委員会
Reproductive Research Committee
おざわじゅんこ・きくちさかえ・白井千晶
寺本裕美子・西川直子（五十音順）
Junko Ozawa, Sakae Kikuchi, Chiaki Shirai,
Yumiko Teramoto, Naoko Nishikawa
●Email： repro.researching@gmail.com
●Twitter: ＠reproresearch1
●Facebook：リプロ・リサーチ実行委員会
●Instagram：reproresearch
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●署名「すべての女性と赤ちゃんの人権を守ってください！」
Our petition signatures to the Health Ministry in April 2022
実態調査アンケート ／ Your Maternity Service during Covid-19 Survey
日本語 ／ Japanese（Ver.1）：https://forms.gle/dLDKMPJiW5iA4PV38
日本語 ／ Japanese（Ver.2）：https://forms.gle/7hoDTTFvddQqHGzi8
英語 ／ English： https://forms.gle/RwtRyJYwucLaX4i38
スペイン語 ／ Spanish： https://forms.gle/ZeDXz3heN1e5HbfW7
フランス語 ／ French ： https://forms.gle/GHnAZtf1GL3Ln4ib9