The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and professional associations have proposed the use of family pharmacies/pharmacists as part of the health and medical care system for pregnant/postpartum women. In this study, we clarified the consultation needs of pregnant/postpartum women with regard to the functions and capabilities of pharmacies/pharmacists, and examined the relationship with background information on pregnant/ postpartum women（ number of births, age at the time of the response, and status of pharmacy use）. The counseling needs of pregnant/postpartum women were categorized into four clusters: general health care items, health products and over-the-counter medicines, prescription medicine, and general consultation. Additionally, each cluster was associated with three factors of maternal background information. Regardless of whether they are primipara or multipara, those who are relatively young in age group tend to 1） mainly consult with the attending obstetrician they are visiting, 2） their consultation needs with pharmacists are in the area of self-care and self-medication, 3） according to their childbirth experience, they Priority tends to shift from health products and over-the-counter medicines to general health care items. On the other hand, we concluded that those who are relatively older tend to 1） consolidate their use of multiple pharmacies to some extent to their family pharmacies in accordance with their experience of childbirth, and 2） shift their consultation needs from general consultation to prescription medicines. It was thought that these results are significant for pharmacies/pharmacists to practice a response that takes into account the characteristics of each pregnant/postpartum woman.

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In recent years, the discussion over OTC adoption of EC has highlighted problems such as the lack of knowledge among pharmacists and whether OTC adoption of EC can be stocked at pharmacies. However, there is no basis for this allegation. Therefore, we conducted two questionnaire surveys for pharmacists to determine whether they are hindrances to improved access to EC and to clarify their thoughts on the OTC adoption of EC. In both surveys, more than 60% of the respondents were in favor of OTC adoption. Moreover, in the second survey, a higher percentage of respondents perceived themselves as having basic knowledge of EC. Among those opposed to OTC adoption, concerns about the lack of knowledge of pharmacists and ensuring customer privacy within the pharmacy premises were stronger in the second survey. It was hypothesized that the pharmacist factors that were pointed out in domestic discussions as hindrances to improved access to EC do not necessarily reflect the actual situation. This is because many respondents who believed they had basic knowledge of EC, were more concerned with ensuring privacy than inventory, and their perception of their own function may have influenced their decision to approve or disapprove of OTC adoption.

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