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Background: Mental health problems among expectant and nursing mothers also affect their infants, partners, and families. While physical activity is a potential method for preventing postpartum depression (PPD), it is difficult for postpartum women to find the time for physical exercise. A recent study reported that improving communication between expectant couples can be used as a preventive intervention for PPD, and a systematic review and meta-analysis recently reported decreased facial emotional expressivity in individuals with different non-psychotic disorders. Therefore, we focused on facial muscle training and its potential as prevention for PPD. Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of online facial muscle training with resonance vocalization using real-time video conferencing programs on the PPD of postpartum women at 2–3 months. Design: We recruited 20 postpartum women and used a single-arm, prospective, pre-post design. Methods: All subjects participated in 30 min of online facial muscle training with resonance vocalization once a week for 4 weeks. The first and final sessions were performed using a real-time remote chat application, and the second and third sessions were performed on demand. Scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as an indicator of PPD were used as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the appearance ratio of a happy facial expression, analyzed using FaceReader™; mood, which was measured using a visual analog scale; and stress level, which was measured using a smartwatch. Results: The training had a significant effect on EPDS, appearance ratio of a happy facial expression, and mood; however, it did not affect physical stress. Conclusions: In the future, intervention studies with a higher evidence level, such as a crossover randomized controlled trial, are required. Plain language summary: The effects of online facial muscle training with resonance vocalization on postpartum depression: A single-arm pilot study The mental health problems of expectant and nursing mothers also affect their infants, partners, and families. However, it is difficult for postpartum women to find the time for physical exercise. So, we evaluated the effectiveness of online facial muscle training with resonance vocalization using real-time video conferencing programs. 20 subjects of postpartum women at two to three months participated in 30 minutes a time, once a week for four weeks. As the result, this training had a significant effect on the subjective mental health, happy facial expression and mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of supportive underwear has been applied for preventing stress urinary incontinence (SUI) which is caused by descent of the bladder neck due to weakness in the pelvic floor muscles, because it is known that SUI can be improved by elevating the descended bladder neck. However, appropriate approaches to the underwear design are still being explored. In order to establish an appropriate first-order design strategy for supportive underwear, clarifying the relationship between the pressure from the underwear and the amount of elevation of the bladder neck is necessary. We constructed a finite element model of the pelvis based on magnetic resonance images of a subject in an upright position, experimentally explored Young's modulus of the soft tissue and analyzed the amount of elevation of the bladder neck when changing the combination of applied pressures from the underwear. The position of the bladder neck relatively elevated when the pressure in the region from the abdomen to the pubis decreased and when the pressure in the region from the perineum to the coccyx increased, suggesting an appropriate design for the supportive underwear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The prevalence of storage symptoms, including stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB), is high in women worldwide. In Japan, there have been few large‐scale epidemiological surveys of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and the risk factors for these symptoms are unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and risk factors of storage symptoms in Japanese women. Methods: A cross‐sectional Internet survey was conducted in Japan. Five thousand women aged 20–79 years were selected to answer demographic questionnaires, Japanese version of International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire–Short Form, and the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) pertaining to their symptoms in the previous month. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the prevalence of storage symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine risk factors for SUI and OAB. Results: The answers from 4804 women (average age, 40.4 years) were analyzed. The prevalence of SUI was 16.7% (SUI, 13.0%; mixed urinary incontinence, 3.7%). The prevalence of OAB diagnosed on OABSS was 8.1%. The prevalence of SUI and OAB symptoms increased with age, and 68.0% of women had one or more storage symptoms. Age ≥40 years, body mass index ≥25 kg/m2, and constipation were common risk factors for SUI and OAB. Childbirth was an additional risk factor for SUI. Conclusions: The prevalence of storage symptoms in Japanese women was high, and risk factors associated with these symptoms were similar to those reported in studies in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]