Event Report: Women's Health Seminar "Women's Health and Life Planning"
Event Date
Event Venue
2022/04/27
As part of the "Women's Health Support—Breeze Project," we held the Women's Health Seminar "Women's Health and Life Planning" on Monday, April 25, 2022.
This third session featured a program consisting of two mini-lectures by experts, a dialogue, and a Q&A session.
Mini-Lectures
■ Tomoko Yoshihama (Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine)
Title: "What You Need to Know Now! A Talk on Pregnancy and Childbirth"
Description: This talk will provide a clear and specific explanation of general information about fertility treatments, when to see a doctor, and potential problems that can occur during pregnancy.
■ Yasuko Hosaka (Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care)
Title: "Are You Familiar with Preconception Care?"
Description: What is a life plan that considers your own pregnancy and childbirth? Why not think about building "your body now" for the future?
Dialogue
While answering questions from the audience in a Q&A session, the speakers candidly shared how they, as individual women, have balanced work and childcare, what they learned from their experiences, and what they were mindful of. This provided an opportunity to reflect on "women's life planning."
Here is some feedback from the participants
● I've just started job hunting, and as I thought about designing my life, including career development and life planning, I felt frustrated, wondering why only women have to worry about "balancing" work and family. This made me feel negative about both job hunting and the prospect of pregnancy and childbirth. However, I was encouraged by the speakers' spirit of "do what you want to do" and "it will all work out." It made me feel a little more relaxed, thinking that maybe I don't have to overthink my life plan, in a good way.
● As I approached the age I had hoped to have children by, I was feeling anxious that my life plan was falling apart. After listening to the two speakers, I realized that the most important thing is to make the best choices in my current situation.
● This was my first time attending, and the content of the lectures was very easy to understand. Also, the story shared at the end about feeling uncomfortable with people's comments like, "You should have told me (if you weren't feeling well)," really resonated with me. I want to be a staff member who has this knowledge and can help build a symbiotic environment.
● I am a 31-year-old woman. I have no plans for pregnancy at the moment, but I had a vague anxiety about fertility treatments. I feel I have a deeper understanding after hearing an explanation for the first time. I think it all comes down to "it varies from person to person," but hearing the stories from women who have gone before me was very encouraging and helpful. I would also like to know approximately how much money is needed at each stage, and about managing finances and preparing for childbirth from a mother's perspective. I know I will have to make various choices from now on, and I want to choose the best life for myself.
Please note that an archived video of only the mini-lectures by Dr. Yoshihama and Dr. Hosaka will be released at a later date. It will be uploaded to the news section of the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion website, so we encourage anyone interested to watch it.
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