2019 Volume 85 Issue 2 Pages 80-89
To enhance empathy between partners for the prevention of postpartum depression, an “empathy session” was developed in Australia and adapted into a Japanese health service setting. The present study aimed to assess attendantsʼ empathy level and mental health status and to verify their evaluation of the Japanese version of the session at a hospital. The participants were 20 couples, who took part in regular parenting classes at a target hospital between April 9 and October 8, 2016. The empathy session that included two activities, sharing parenting concerns with their partner and discussion on a case of a mother facing parenting difficulty, was added to the parenting classes. We conducted surveys asking the levels of empathy and mental health of the couple at the beginning of the session and asked to evaluate the session at the end. The results showed that the median multidimensional empathy scale score of the fathers was 3.80. Mothers who scored 9 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale accounted for 25％. All participants evaluated the session as helpful, and wrote that they could understand their partnerʼs concerns, communicate with other couples, and learn what should be discussed and prepared for child rearing. In conclusion, the prevalence of postnatal depression among mothers and the empathy level of fathers participated in the empathy session tended to be high, and the contents of the session were shown to enhance mutual understanding between partners. natal depression among mothers and the empathy level of fathers participated in the empathy session tended to be high, and the contents of the session were shown to enhance mutual understanding between partners.
