With an increasing number of women in Japan marrying later in life, more are seeking advice from local governments about the anxiety or depression they feel after repeated miscarriages or stillbirths during pregnancies.
As consultations pour in from women grieving such losses, municipalities are promoting mental care programs, receiving the backing in March of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to enhance their support by creating a handbook compiled by a research team of experts for use by local governments and medical institutions.
The counseling office for infertility at Okayama University Hospital receives requests for advice from grief-stricken women. Some speak of being "unable to breathe" when suddenly reminded of their traumatic experience, or having "nobody to talk to."