2019 Volume 68 Issue 1 Pages 2-7
Now Japan is facing new social problems such as an increase in anxiety about child care and child abuse, psychological problems of parents and children, and child-rearing stress after dramatically improvement of the health of mothers and children.
To approach such new issues, Healthy Parents and Children 21 revealed maternal and child health initiatives, directions, goals, and indicators for the 21st century in 2001. Since then, many issues related to adolescent health, safe pregnancy and delivery, and child health care have been further improved. Now, the second term of Healthy Parents and Children 21 from 2015–2024 aims at improving the lives of parents and children by ensuring constant, high-quality maternal and child health services all over Japan, and developing diverse maternal and child health services that cover various problems of child-rearing.
This paper provides a summary of past maternal and child health policies and an overview of the maternal and child health policy since 2001, especially focusing on the first and second terms of Healthy Parents and Children 21—Japan’s maternal and child health policy.
