Abstract
There is a distinct period when a standard of maternal and child health was drastically improved
in Japan before World War II. This period is called "Birth Revolution" which began in 1899, when the
qualification of midwifery was established, and lasted for 40 years. Throughout this period, midwives
were trained in Western medicine, and they gradually changed the ways of child birth in Japanese
traditional communities. Ochiai(1980) and Nishikawa(2004) depicted the process of "Birth Revolution"
based on interviews with midwives who lived through this period. This study vividly explains the
dynamic process of "Birth Revolution" based on the statistical health data and the activities of both
public and community organizations.
The study shows that the infant mortality rate was improved only after 1920, that is the second half
of the 40 years of "Birth Revolution". The fact suggests that it took 20 years for new midwives who were
trained in Western medicine were accepted by Japan a traditional society. Furthennore, the improvement
in the infant mortality rate was varied according to society's acceptation accept new midwives, while
there were those in while the midwives used freely this skills.
