About 30 percent of expectant or nursing mothers who died in 2015 and 2016 took their own lives, a research team from the National Center for Child Health and Development has announced.
Suicide was the most common cause of death among these women, with women from unemployed households and those aged 35 or older facing a higher risk after they gave birth, according to the team. The team's findings suggest that postnatal depression (see CLIP) could be a factor in the women's deaths.
This was the first research examining the national situation regarding the suicides of expectant or nursing mothers.
The research team surveyed the causes of death based on death certificates, birth certificates and records of stillbirths for women aged from 12 to 60 submitted to local governments.
During the two-year period, 357 women died while they were pregnant, or within less than one year after giving birth. A breakdown of their deaths revealed 102 committed suicide, three while pregnant and 99 after giving birth; 75 died due to cancer, all after giving birth; and 28 died due to heart disease, 27 after giving birth and one whose time of death was unclear.
A closer look at the personal background of 92 women who took their own lives after giving birth found that the highest suicide rate was among women from unemployed households. Forty-five of these women -- almost half -- were 35 or older, significantly more than the 21 women who were 29 or younger.
The research team suspects that economic hardship, giving birth later in life and psychological problems such as postnatal depression could be factors in these suicides.
"It's important to make steady efforts to provide support and detect women's anxieties about child-rearing and their lives through steps such as health checks after they give birth and home visits by midwives and public health nurses," said Rintaro Mori, chief of the department of health policy at the Tokyo-based center's research institute.
CLIP
Postnatal depression
A psychological illness that occurs after a woman gives birth. The woman falls into a state of depression and loses interest or a sense of enjoyment in various things, and may also suffer from insomnia or a lack of appetite. Causes are thought to include sudden changes in the woman's hormone balance and environment, and feeling isolated while raising a child.
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