Summary: HuMA supported the obstetrics and gynecology departments of hospitals affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake by dispatching experts. Keiju General Hospital continued to provide medical care in the temporary ward after the damage to its obstetrics and gynecology ward made it difficult to provide medical care. Pregnant women who could not live safely after the disaster were urged to evacuate to the hospital, and they accepted pregnant women; for example, a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes who survived the tsunami and the collapse of her house, and a pregnant woman who was close to giving birth. The hospital had been collecting information on pregnant women visiting the hospital since before the disaster, and promptly sent messages after the disaster to check their health status, evacuation locations, and whether they had any problems or symptoms. For those who wanted to transfer to another hospital due to evacuation, they wrote referral letters and contacted the transfer destination. Those who were worried about not being able to visit the hospital were consulted by phone. During the Kumamoto earthquake, at the request of the Aso City public health nurse, HuMA and ALSO collected information from local pregnant women and responded according to the risks. Utilizing this experience, the hospital had been communicating with them by phone and social media since before the disaster, and information was collected immediately after the disaster. However, information on pregnant women was insufficient, because they were not able to collect the pregnant women who never visit the hospital. If the information on local pregnant women could be managed by the government during peacetime, it could lead to smoother responses to pregnant women in disasters and save more pregnant women and fetuses.
Yamashita et al. (Sun,) studied this question.