Plan and action for the development of perinatal mental health literacy for psychiatrists in Japan

Abstract

The widespread and growing use of psychotropic drugs by pregnant women requires deeper comprehension of mental disorders by health care professionals regarding pregnancy treatment. Health literacy, or the ability to access, understand, appraise and apply health information is important to improve individuals’ perinatal mental health. A previous study demonstrated that Japanese health literacy is lower than that of Europeans which suggests that there are difficulties in health decision-making in Japan. This complication may be associated with less reliable and comprehensive website access comparable to that in Europe and the U.S. Effective risk communication sharing potential benefit and risk is essential to improve the prevention and control of benefits and high risks of pregnant women with severe mental disorders. Since the quality of web-based perinatal mental health resources in Japan is poor to moderate, specialist physicians should warn pregnant women about these facts and recommend they access appropriate resources of perinatal health by the Internet or by telephone counseling. Specialist perinatal mental health services can provide assessment of mental disorder including risk of relapse during pregnancy, treatment by combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, communication with specialist consultation, and advice regarding services for managing pregnant women. It is important to emphasize structured perinatal mental health services and managed networks in Japan.