The Development and Evaluation of "Development of Motherhood' learning program-Psychological, physiological, endocrine and brain science evaluation of first-hand learning about infants-

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BackgroundThe adolescent is a critical period to develop motherhood. However, there are no systematic educational programs to develop adolescents' motherhood in Japan.PurposesTo identify the psychological, physiological, endocrinological and brain science effects on the experience of the first-hand learning about infants for the adolescent males and females.MethodsTen males and 10 females adolescents experienced the first-hand learning about infants with one infant per adolescent as the experimental group and the control group consisted of 20 adolescents. Learning Sessions continued for three months, once a week, for 2 to 3 hours at a time in a nursery school. All infants were about the same age. In order to obtain the differences in the degree of motherhood development, questionnaires were given to the participants and a video of the crying and laughing faces of the infants, which was intended to stimulate an understanding of motherhood development, was shown to the participants befor … More e and after their learning experience for psychological physiological, endocrine evaluation and brain science (fMRI) evaluation purposes. And compared between adolescents and mothers.ResultsBased on the scale of readiness of motherhood, the participants' positive affection towards the infants significantly increased after the experience of first-hand learning than before the experience. Physiological evaluation, the participants' heart rate variability significantly increased after the experience compared to before the experience. Endocrinological evaluation, there was no significant difference between the males and females either before or after first-hand learning. Based on the scale of brain science, during the infant's cry condition compared with white noise condition, the participants showed significant activation in the bilateral cingulate cortex and bilateral middle frontal gyrus after the child care experience. During the infant's cry condition compared with cry and visual condition, these was significant activation in the right inferior frontal lobe between the adolescents and mothers before the child care experience. But these was no significant difference between the adolescent and mothers after the child care experience.ConclusionsBased on the accumulation of learning experience and the development of relationships with the infants, it is clearly identified that continuous first-hand learning about infants is positively effective for the development of motherhood. Before first-hand learning, readiness of motherhood was different between the males and females, we have to take into consideration about sex differences. Less