2017 Volume 37 Pages 114-122
Aim: The aim of this study is to determine public health nurses’ support process for specified expectant mothers (Tokutei-ninpu), as pregnant, postpartum, and child-rearing women with special needs.
Methods: Participants were 11 public health nurses with more than five years’ experience with maternal and child health,and experience concerned with the same specified expectant mothers more than two times during the pregnancy and delivery period. Support process for pregnant women with special needs were examined through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach.
Results: We found that public health nurses’ support process for pregnant women with special needs focused on [identifying maternal attachment capacities]. This process was explained by five categories: building relationships between pregnant women and public health nurses, finding locations to depend on neighborhood people (pregnant women’s indulgent dependency or amae), identifying capacities for pregnant life, providing continual support for pregnancy, and providing a support net for pregnancy and infant security.
Conclusions: The social vulnerability of pregnant women with special needs shifted to independence through the power of neighborhood support; public health nurses assessed the internal psychological function of pregnant and enlisted community resources for infant security.
