This study’s aim was to clarify first-time fathers’ experiences of the paternal adaptation process from the antenatal period until the end of their childcare leave. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 men taking childcare leave for at least one week after the birth of their first child. Qualitative content analysis was performed on the interview transcripts and identified 17 themes. These included “Information-gathering and coordination for taking childcare leave,” “Active preparation for becoming a father,” “Supporting my wife from before to after childcare leave,” “Advice and support from my wife regarding my child rearing,” “Taking an active role in housework and childcare,” “Caring for and sympathizing with my wife,” “Mutual support between spouses,” “Being interested in and engaging with my child,” “The feeling of being a father,” “Experiencing the joy of being a father through childcare,” “Difficult childcare experiences,” and “Difficulties balancing work and childcare.” These results suggest that fathers taking childcare leave should be advised on information-gathering and preparation for childcare leave from the antenatal period.

Objective: To clarify the true statistics of smartphone usage before sleep at one month postpartum and the impact of smartphone use on fatigue. Methods: A self-administered, unmarked questionnaire relating to smartphone usage as well as a postpartum fatigue scale was used to survey woman who were one month postpartum. Simple tabulations and nonparametric tests were used to analyze differences between groups. Results: Daily smartphone use had a median of 180 minutes, and IQR of 174.5 with times ranging from 15 minutes to 720 minutes. Younger age groups and primipara have the longest use time of surveyed groups. In addition, individuals with more frequent smartphone usage before sleep, and individuals with higher usage prior to sleep had higher than the median smartphone use time. Surveyed participants frequently used the “Browse and post on SNS” as well as some “Keep in touch” functions. Participants also found it convenient to be able to “look up things they don’t understand immediately” and “ask someone right away.” The results of the analysis regarding smartphone use and fatigue scale surveys showed that there were significant discrepancies in fatigue from the group with more frequent smartphone usage before sleep. Conclusion: If smartphone usage before sleep is high, the mother is more likely to be fatigued.